


Black Ice

by xspike4evax



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2020-02-22
Packaged: 2020-03-02 19:41:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 59,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18817678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xspike4evax/pseuds/xspike4evax
Summary: It took one spell to turn Draco's life upside down. Broken, guilt ridden, he's forced to flee Malfoy Manor and turn to those he despises for help; but no matter how broken you are, there is someone out there who will love you enough to put all your broken pieces back together again.





	1. Chapter 1

Narcissa Malfoy bit nervously on her lower lip as she sat rocking gently in her rocking chair. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to travel back sixteen years ago when she would sit in this chair and rock her baby to sleep. Narcissa would hold her tiny son close to her breast, keeping him safe and warm in her arms as she sang him to sleep. 

Her heart ached at the memory; her baby was a man now. She didn’t feel as needed as she had once been. Nevertheless, she was still his mother and Draco was still her baby and he always would be. 

It was her duty as the woman who had borne him to make sure Draco was safe from harm. Narcissa knew Lucius thought she was too clingy and she should back off from Draco a little more; but she couldn’t, especially now. 

The Dark Lord was back, and her sister was back. Draco had the Dark Mark and had been forced into performing unforgivable curses and charged with murdering Albus Dumbledore. Narcissa’s maternal instincts had come rushing to the surface and she had dealt with the last matter; she had made the Unbreakable Vow with Severus Snape to keep Draco safe and ensure Snape carried out the murder so as not to destroy her son. Now, Narcissa was ready to do battle for her son again. Narcissa was like a cornered tigress who was ready to fight to the death to protect her child; and fight she would. 

Standing, Narcissa squared her slim shoulders, today would be the day she stood up to her elder sister. Bellatrix would not push her around today. Bellatrix would not bully her as she always had done. Narcissa was a woman now, a mother; and she would show her sister just how tough and resilient a mother could be. 

She crossed the bedroom floor with swift determined movements and walked down the landing to the sweeping stair case of Malfoy Manor. The manor was quiet today, there were no coming’s or going’s of the Death Eaters, no yells and curses as they argued amongst themselves over what was to be done next; Narcissa felt the stillness was rather eerie. 

She caught the faint scent of lavender in the air as she passed through the foyer; Narcissa liked flowers and always made sure each room had a fresh vase in it. 

She made her way to the parlour pushing open the door. Bellatrix sat in an arm chair scanning a piece of parchment. For an odd moment, Narcissa thought how starkly different she and Bellatrix were in appearance. 

Bellatrix had a wild mass of thick black hair, deep heavy lidded brown eyes, full pouting lips, and a heaving bosom that had always afforded her a lot of male attention. Narcissa was slimmer in build with long, glossy blonde hair, fair skin, and piercing blue eyes. They had always been different in temperament too, Bellatrix had a wildness about her, a lusty love of living while Narcissa had always been the more sedate sister. Still, they had been as close as two sisters could be. 

“May I have a word with you, Bellatrix?” Narcissa closed the door behind her. 

Bellatrix looked up sharp eyes noting the determined look on Narcissa’s face. “Of course, what is it? Did Lucius tell you the news about Draco?" Bellatrix eyes shone with pride. "To have the Dark Lord request Draco's presence in his army of elite fighters is such an honour for one so young."

Narcissa’s body stiffened. “Yes, Lucius told me. That’s what I want to talk to you about. I want Draco to return to Hogwarts and continue with his studies, there are enough Death Eaters to go after Potter and the Ministry without involving Draco.” 

“Really, Cissy,” Bellatrix exclaimed exasperated. “Do we have to go through this rigmarole every single time Draco has the opportunity to prove his allegiance and loyalty to the Dark Lord? Didn’t we have enough of this when he was ordered to get us all into Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore?” 

“He’s my son, Bellatrix,” Narcissa said through clenched teeth. “I will not stand by and watch him die, he’s only a child.” 

Bellatrix snorted. “He’s a young man, Cissy, and it’s high time you realised it. Besides, he needs to do this; he needs to prove he is loyal to our Master.” 

“Excuse me?” Narcissa asked sharply, her eyes narrowing. “Just what is that supposed to mean?” 

“Well, he failed last time." Bellatrix pointed out in an annoyingly calm and haughty tone. 

“No, he did not. He got the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, didn’t he? Dumbledore is dead, isn’t he?” Narcissa snapped. 

“But Draco didn’t kill him,” Bellatrix reminded her. She stood and stretched out her back giving her sister a bored look. 

“And he’s to be forever punished for that, is he?” Narcissa demanded icily. “Draco is to continually pay for the fact he didn’t kill the one man the Dark Lord himself is afraid of!” 

Bellatrix froze, eyes darkening as a blistering anger began to swirl from the pit of her stomach right up into her chest. “Watch what you’re saying, Narcissa,” she warned. 

“Your wonderful Dark Lord was afraid of Dumbledore and you know it! He sent a boy to do his dirty work because he wasn’t smart enough to figure out how to get into the school himself. I refuse to stand here and allow Draco to be sent on fools errands and suicide missions! He survived once due to the grace of Severus Snape and I will not tolerate his life being used in that dismissive way again!” The calm decorum which came with being a lady of good standing and breeding was gone from her; Narcissa could feel only a fierce desperation to keep Draco safe. 

“How dare you,” Bellatrix pronounced each word with controlled anger, her body shaking with barely concealed fury. “How dare you speak so about the Dark Lord?” 

“I dare, Bellatrix!” Narcissa shouted, “I dare because I want my son to live, to have a chance at a decent life. He doesn’t stand a chance of either if he goes along with you. The Death Eaters will get him killed. You’d understand if you had your own child, and don’t even try to give me that rubbish about sacrifice for the Dark Lord. No man on this earth is worth the sacrifice of your own child, your own flesh and blood!” 

“Be careful, Narcissa,” Bellatrix said, her voice was low and dangerous but Narcissa took no notice of the subtle warning. 

“Ever since the Dark Lord has returned my family has done nothing but suffer. I wish he’d never come back. He does nothing but destroy everything and everyone he comes into contact with,” Narcissa told her sister vehemently. 

“Cissy…” 

“I hate him. He's a vile creature and I wish Harry Potter had finished him off for good. Our lives would have been much better if he had never ever come into it!” Narcissa jabbed a finger hard into her sister’s chest. “He’s evil, and I curse the day he came into our lives. I curse him to the darkest corners of hell where he belongs! If I could kill him myself I’d do it, Bella. I’d kill him with my bare hands if it kept my son safe from his clutches. I’ve seen what he’s done to you and I refuse to let it happen to my Draco. I won’t let the Dark Lord ruin him, spoil him. Draco will follow the Dark Lord’s orders over my dead body!” 

Bellatrix lips curled into a high cruel sneer. Her eyes were so dark they were almost black and too late Narcissa spotted the unhinged look on her sisters face, and the wild madness which coated her eyes. “That, Narcissa, can be arranged.” 

Before Narcissa had a chance to react Bellatrix raised her wand. 

XxX

Draco heard the shouting and hurried to the parlour wondering what was happening this time. He arrived at the door of the parlour in time to hear his aunt screeching the killing curse and see a flash of green illuminate up the room. 

He froze on the threshold; his mother lay over the plush carpet, her golden hair spilling around her head and her eyes; those loving blue eyes were lifeless and staring. 

“Mother!” Draco ran forward and dropped to his knees beside the still body of the woman who had loved him to distraction. “Mother,” he whispered, clutching her hand tightly. 

“Bellatrix, what is going on in here?” Lucius Malfoy strode into the room, an annoyed look on his face, sure his sister in law was causing trouble best left alone. His heart stilled when he took in the scene before him. His sons terrified, sad eyes, his sister-in-laws manic expression and his wife; his wife’s lifeless body lay sprawled elegantly across the carpet. 

He hurried to his wife’s side and stared down at her. She stared back at him, her eyes glassy and dull, her face smooth and expressionless. 

“Narcissa?” he croaked. 

“Do something, father do something!” Draco begged, unshed tears swimming in his eyes. 

There was movement in the doorway and out of the corner of his eye, reflected in the mirror hanging over the fireplace, Lucius saw Peter Pettigrew together with Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange arrive on the scene. 

Lucius turned to Bellatrix. “Explain yourself.” 

“She was standing in the way, Lucius. She was refusing to allow Draco to do what needed to be done, to follow the orders of our Lord. She became a traitor in the end, Lucius. My sister! She was supporting Potter; she said she wished he had finished the Dark Lord off!” Bellatrix informed him, her eyes hot with rage. 

Luicus nodded. “Sacrifices must be made, Bellatrix.” 

“Indeed,” she agreed, glaring down at her sisters dead body. 

“Go and calm yourself down,” Lucius told her. He waited until Bellatrix had left, taking the Lestrange brothers and the creeping sneaking Pettigrew with her, then he cast a locking and silencing spell on the room and let out a soft breath. 

Draco stared stupidly at his father from his position on the floor. He couldn’t believe it; he couldn’t take in what was happening. His mother was dead, she was dead! At the hand of her own sister and his father was doing nothing about it. He was acting like this was normal behaviour. Why wasn’t he getting angry? Why wasn’t he reacting at all? Why didn’t he kill Bellatrix? 

“What the hell?” Draco snapped, his grey eyes turning hard and stormy. 

“Trust me, Draco.” Lucius knelt beside him and squeezed his shoulder. “Keep it all in, don’t say a word against Bellatrix, and express your disappointment of your mother’s change of heart….” 

“What?” Draco glared at his father. “You want me to do what?” 

“Draco, listen to me.” Lucius turned haunted eyes to his son’s distressed face. “I need you to keep up the loyal Malfoy charade for another twenty-four hours until your mother is buried in the family crypt and we can leave.” 

Draco blinked. “Leave?” 

“Yes, leave. Pack everything you want to take with you and we’ll go.” 

“Go? Go where?” Draco was sure he had never felt so many emotions in his life before, he was still trying to grasp the knowledge that his mother was gone, and now his father was confusing him even more. 

“To the Order of the Phoenix,” Lucius replied firmly.


	2. Chapter 2

A thin layer of perspiration formed over Draco's back and along his hairline as he stood silently head bowed under the hot sun his face closed, his grey eyes blank as he stood beside his father watching the white box containing his mothers sleeping form enter the Malfoy family crypt. It was such a beautiful day, the sky was a clear blue and cloudless, just the kind of day his mother liked best. It seemed to mock his pain; as if the world didn’t care his lungs were closing up so tightly he couldn’t breathe and his heart felt like lead in his chest. 

His mother was gone. His youthful, wonderful, sophisticated mother; she had gone. His mother would never again stroke his hair, touch his cheek, laugh lightly and smile that happy smile when she saw him again at his return from school. It had always seemed like such a long time for his mother when he was away at Hogwarts. 

Lifting veiled eyes from the coffin he glanced to his left. She was stood there, tall, imposing, elegant in her long, flowing black dress; Bellatrix Lestrange. 

A surge of hate Draco had never felt before blasted through his body and it took every ounce of his self control to keep his hands linked together behind his back and not reach for his wand. Never before had he experienced the urge to cause the most unbelievable pain anyone could cause to another person. 

Vaguely Draco wondered where this urge had been the night Dumbledore had died. Why didn’t he have the urge to kill that night like he did right now? If he had his mother might still be alive and with him today, she wouldn’t have needed to try to protect him as she had done. 

Swivelling his eyes from the hated woman beside him, Draco turned once more to his mother, to say his last silent goodbye to the woman who had loved him more than her own life. Would there ever again be someone in his life who would love him as fiercely? 

In his head Draco chanted his goodbye over and over again, silently telling his mother he loved her and would miss her. As the door closed on the crypt sheet of ice covered his heart and Draco felt he would never feel anything good again. 

Turning away, unwilling to allow those gathered to pay their respects to the wife of Lucius Malfoy to see his tears, Draco strode across the grounds of Malfoy Manor into the cool foyer of the house. He scurried up the spiralling staircase like a frightened mouse and went directly to his room. 

A few minutes later his father appeared, tall and intimidating in his black mourning robes, his long blonde hair pulled back into a black ribbon. Lucius gazed at his son, not possessing the words to speak comfort to him when there was no comfort to give. 

Running a hand across his forehead Lucius sighed heavily. “You did well, Draco.” 

Draco scowled, but said nothing. He did however notice how tired his father suddenly looked. His shoulders sagged and deep circles had appeared beneath his eyes. He looked wretched, but he couldn’t feel as dreadful as he did, Draco was sure of that. 

“I don’t think anyone suspected a thing,” Lucius continued. “Did you pack?” 

“Yes,” Draco replied dully. “Are we really going? To them I mean?” 

Lucius nodded. "It is not safe for you to stay here. Your mother gave her life fighting for you to live. It is my duty to ensure her death was not in vain.” Clearing his throat Lucius squared his shoulders. “You are my only son, Draco, I do not want to live through the day I say goodbye to you as well. So, we shall go.” 

“What if they don’t trust us?” Draco wondered, he couldn’t see Harry Potter leaping to help them. 

“Of course they won’t trust us, Draco,” Lucius said softly, a small, sly smile curling his lips. “But I know Harry Potter and his honorable ways. Dumbledore offered you full protection, your mother too; Harry Potter will not go back on the word of Dumbledore.” 

Draco nodded, stifling a sigh, today was the worst of his life, and the last thing he wanted was to deal with Harry Potter on top of it all. He summoned his case from its hiding place under the bed and his father shrank it down. 

“Are you sure you have everything you need?” 

“Everything,” Draco replied despondently. 

“Then we shall go while Bella is playing hostess downstairs,” Lucius muttered, his face flushing angrily at the nerve of the woman who had killed her own flesh and blood. 

Draco crept silently behind his father down the darkened corridors of Malfoy Manor to his father's study. They were to use the floo network to get to The Leaky Caldron and from there his father intended them to apparate to The Burrow, the home of the Weasley clan. 

He did not much like the idea of turning up unannounced at The Burrow, and Draco’s aristocratic nose automatically turned up at the idea of setting one foot inside that tin can of a house. But he knew there was no other way, he and his father might be found if they attempted to disappear on their own and Dumbledore had said they could be hidden more completely than he ever imagined. 

That was what Draco was hoping for, the chance to escape the darkness surrounding him, dragging him down into deep black pit from which there was no escape. 

Once in the study Draco moved quickly to the fire grate, his heart beating an unruly pattern in his chest as fear of being caught and punished overrode all other emotion. Trying to swallow down the nervous lump in his dry throat he cast a worried glance at his father. A small frown creased his forehead; his father was staring around the room as though he would never see it again. But they would come back here, once everything was over they’d come back to Malfoy Manor, it had been the Malfoy’s home for centuries, it was to come to him upon his father's death; it belonged to him. 

Lucius stepped into the grate beside his son. He wondered vaguely when Draco had grown so tall, they were almost the same height, there were only a few inches between them. Same hair, same eyes, same build; Draco was a younger version of himself and the thought scared Lucius. He didn’t want his son to make the same mistakes he had. 

Lucius clearly stated he wanted to go to The Leakey Caldron and dropped the floo powder into the grate. Through the rushing green light from the flames Draco’s eyes rested on the large painting of Narcissa Malfoy hanging on the wall beside her husband's desk. She was young and beautiful in the painting, standing on the balcony overlooking the gardens in her flowing white wedding dress. Draco kept staring until his mothers face was replaced by the dimly lit, grimy room of The Leaky Caldron and was practically dragged from the grate and through the door into the street. Draco shot his father a reproachful look from the corner of his eye for treating him in such a manner in public. They were still Malfoy’s, they still had a reputation to protect, didn’t they? 

“Side along apparation is probably best under the circumstances,” Lucius informed him, grey eyes darting around, always alert. 

“I did pass my apparation test.” Draco wasn’t sure he liked the idea of turning up at the Weasley's clinging to his father’s arm like a child. 

“Don’t argue now,” Lucius snapped offering his arm, the tight look on his face warning Draco not to dawdle. 

The sense of urgency he felt from his father communicated itself to him and Draco was completely annoyed with himself at the quivering muscles in his lower abdomen. Of course he knew the danger of their situation; he knew what would happen to them both should the Death Eaters catch up to them or if Potter and his merry band of mud bloods refused to help them. 

Always Draco had trusted his father, never once had he really questioned any decision Lucius made; but now he couldn’t stop the doubts. Now he was terrified of what might happen to them both if this all went wrong. 

He didn’t want to end up back at Malfoy Manor before the Dark Lord and his violent rage. He didn’t want to see those dark snake eyes looking at him so coldly, so unmercifully while unforgivable curses rained down upon his unsheltered body. 

“I can’t walk with you hanging on me, Draco,” Lucius said quietly. “Don’t you trust my apparation skills?” 

They had arrived at the Weasley’s home. Draco's cheeks stained pink when he realised he had been squeezing his father’s arm a lot tighter than he should have. “Of course I do, I just don’t like side along apparation that’s all,” Draco lied smoothly, after all it wouldn’t do for his father to think him weak and scared. 

“Well, come along, Draco.” 

Draco trailed behind his father, his eyes sweeping the old building badly in need of a fresh coat of paint, the garden that was so overgrown the grass came well above his knees, there were more weeds than flowers of any kind and he was pretty sure he spotted a gnome scurrying into the bushes. It was a far cry from the elegance of Malfoy Manor with its whitewashed walls and neatly clipped grass, the scent of flowers always lingering in the air. 

He jumped at the loud rapping of his father’s knuckles on the door. Why in the name of all things magic had his father, Lucius Malfoy, the man who could talk his way out of a room with no doors gone running to Potter? His father knew the darkest of magic, he knew people in high places, surely there was someone in Lucius long line of acquaintances who could help them if he cared to ask for a favour. Why did they need to come grovelling to Potter? It was a horrendous state of affairs to be in. 

“Whose there? Identify yourself,” Arthur Weasley called out from behind the door. 

Lucius cleared his throat. “Lucius and Draco Malfoy.” 

Draco’s ears caught the whispering of voices on the other side of the door, but he couldn’t understand what was being said. He held his breath as the door opened a crack and an eye peered out at him with a patch of red hair above it. 

“Malfoy?” 

“Yes, Weasley. Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Lucius asked dryly. 

“You’ve got a nerve, Malfoy.” 

“I have many things,” Lucius responded. “One of them being manners, I do not converse with my guests on the door step.” 

“Guests? No-one invited you here,” Arthur pointed out. “Why are you here? Be quiet, George.” 

“I’d like to see Mr Potter. He is here I take it?” Lucius asked, his tone bored. When Arthur Weasley didn’t move to offer them entrance to his home Lucius sighed heavily. “Do you really think this is a trap? Do you think I would place my son in such danger? If the Death Eaters were here they’d have set fire to your home by now and watched it burn with you and your family still inside it. I’m alone except for Draco.” 

The truth of the statement hit Draco like the Hogwarts Express; smack in his stomach to knock the air from his lungs and make him gasp in horror. His father was right, they were both alone except for the other. They had only each other for support, for comfort, for strength. The quiet strength of the Malfoy family was gone; his mother was no longer there with them. 

Despite his father’s powerful presence, Draco had never felt more lost and alone.

“All right, come in. But I’m watching you,” Arthur said, standing back and allowing them to slip through the small opening. 

Lucius couldn’t help the sneer curling his lip at the idea of him being afraid of the Weasley’s. He took the entire room in at a glance, from the shocked faces of the Weasley’s and Lupin, to the tense atmosphere and the hard green eyes of Harry Potter. 

Harry sat at the table, Ron Weasley on one side and Hermione Granger on the other. Behind him standing like sentries were the Weasley twins, their feet placed shoulder width apart and their arms folded. 

“What do you want?” Harry asked coldly, his eyes travelling from one Malfoy to the other. 

“Only what was promised to my son,” Lucius replied, moving further into the room, showing he wasn’t the least bit intimidated by those surrounding him. 

“And what is that?” Harry wondered, a look of confusion crossing his face. 

“You were there, Mr Potter, the night Dumbledore died, surely you remember what was offered.” 

Harry nodded slowly. “Dumbledore offered to hide Draco and Mrs Malfoy so completely the Death Eaters would never find them. Is that why you’re here? You want our help?” 

Draco’s eyes closed briefly, the humiliation of his current predicament was unbearable. He had to rely on Potter for help. Weasley was looking at him as though he were nothing and Granger hadn’t even looked at him. A mud blood thinking she was better than him. He hated these people, every last one of them stood for something he and his father despised; to rely on them, to need them was the ultimate mortification. 

The hairs on the back of Draco's neck suddenly stood up. Someone was watching him. Draco turned his head to find Luna Lovegood standing in the doorway beside Ginny Weasley; Ginny’s fiery red hair and annoyed expression the complete opposite to Luna's dirty blonde waves and dreamy eyes. She gazed wistfully over at him, large expressive eyes showing mild surprise at finding him standing around in the Weasley’s kitchen; but Draco saw no anger, no disgust, no critical looks to condemn him for what he had been a party to. No hatred spewed from Luna's stance as it did from Ron Weasley and Harry Potter; she was just there, quietly hovering in the background another blood traitor present to complete his humiliation and make him uncomfortable. 

“In a manner of speaking, yes I do,” Lucius agreed slowly. “However, I’m offering my help in return.” 

“Why?” Remus Lupin moved forward. “Everyone here represents what you have been trying to destroy. The blood traitors,” he gestured towards the Weasley’s. “The mud-blood,” here he rested his hand on Hermione’s shoulder, “and the half-breed,” he finished, placing a hand to his own chest. “Why now do you want to help us?” 

"Why would we want to help you anyway?" Ron snapped. "Only last year you tried to kill us at the Department of Mysteries."

"If I had been trying to kill you, you wouldn't be sitting here," Lucius said quietly. 

"And after everything he's said and done to us," Ron added, waving a hand towards Draco. "You turn up here and just expect us to help you and trust you."

"Ron, please," Molly began but was cut off by Fred. 

"Ron's got a point, mum. All Malfoy's ever done is make everyone he considered beneath him miserable. And you know what Moody always said, there's nobody as sneaky and slippery as Lucius Malfoy."

"They're both slimy gits," Ron said crossly. "You can't seriously be considering trusting these two, Harry."

Before Harry could form a response, Luna spoke. She didn't raise her voice, but somehow she instantly commanded the attention of the room and they all looked first to her and then to Draco.

“Draco, where is your mother?” 

Draco swallowed, willing his tears to stay away. He concentrated on making his face expressionless; but he couldn’t control the shaking of his hands as he balled them into fists at his side. 

“My wife is dead,” Lucius said tonelessly. 

“Oh dear,” Molly said quietly. “I am sorry.” 

Draco barely heard her, he was too busy concentrating on Luna who was crossing the room to him. She stood beside him reaching out to touch his arm, her hand hovering near him but deciding not to touch him as she looked up into his closed face, her eyes showing pity and concern. 

“I’m sorry, Draco. So terribly sorry,” Luna whispered. “How dreadful for you too, Mr Malfoy.” 

“Yes,” Lucius replied, his voice strained. 

“How did she die?” Molly asked. 

“Bellatrix killed her.” 

“Bellatrix? But she’s her sister,” Harry exclaimed, his eyes widening behind his glasses. “Why would she do that?” 

“Because Narcissa was a mother trying to keep her son safe. She was trying to send Draco back to Hogwarts out of harm's way and Bellatrix thought he should stay with the Death Eaters. Narcissa told Bellatrix she wished the Dark Lord had never come back and that you had finished him off,” Lucius told Harry, his voice strangely emotionless, as though he had distanced himself from the event completely and he was merely telling a sad story of someone else’s life. 

“That woman is crazy!” Hermione said. “Is that all Bellatrix Lestrange knows how to do? Kill?” 

“Bellatrix knows how to destroy," Lucius said. "It’s what she’s good at.” 

Harry ruffled his unruly hair. “Dumbledore offered to hide Draco and your wife, he offered to give them full protection and it's not down to me to retract that offer.” 

“Do you know what you’re saying, Harry?” George asked.

“Yes, I know what I’m saying. Dumbledore offered to help Draco and I think he would have offered to help you Mr Malfoy, had you not been in Azkaban at the time. We’ll help you all we can.” 

“What? Why?” Ron demanded, glaring heatedly at the Malfoy’s. 

Draco was just as shocked as Ron. His father had been right as usual, he had set out to find help and he had accomplished it. But did Lucius know what it would fully mean to live with these people and be indebted to them for life? 

He glanced down at Luna out of the corner of his eye; she was still right beside him, almost in a subtle show of solidarity. Although that couldn't be right, Luna Lovegood was hardly an acquaintance never mind a friend, she wouldn't give a damn about him one way or the other. 

Luna smiled serenely at Ron’s red face. “Because that’s what Dumbledore would do if he were here.” 

Harry nodded. “Exactly.”


	3. Chapter 3

Harry put his foot down over helping the Malfoy’s and Lupin and Mr and Mrs Weasley had backed him up and therefore Draco found himself once again the subject of side along apparation. He arrived with Lupin in a run down looking street in a muggle area gazing up at a dilapidated building. He noticed he was staring at number 10 and number 11 Grimmauld Place. All at once the two houses began to stretch and move and number 12 squeezed itself between them. Draco blinked in surprise and mounted the steps behind Lupin. 

“The muggles don’t feel that?” 

“No, muggles have no idea this place exists,” Lupin replied, pushing open the door. 

Draco’s nose wrinkled as he stepped over the threshold into a dimly lit corridor with faded wallpaper and threadbare carpet. The house was old, it still had that musty smell despite the fact it looked relatively clean and lived in. He guessed he was in the Black’s house, he was aware from talk between his mother and aunt that Potter had inherited it from his godfather, Sirius Black. 

He followed Lupin into the kitchen and watched as he lit a fire in the grate. “It’s best all round if you and your father stay here. Molly pops by as often as she can and Kreacher is around to help with the day to day running of the place.” 

“Kreacher?” Draco questioned, he sat down at the table disliking the idea of being cooped up day in and day out, but also knowing it was his only option. 

“Harry’s house elf, he belonged to the Black’s.” 

Draco was slightly mollified by the mention of a house elf. His eyes wandered to the kitchen door when his father strode into the room as though he belonged there with Weasley and Granger behind him. He wondered how his father could carry himself in this confident way even now, when the Malfoy family had been blown to bits. 

He wished, and not for the first time, that he was more like Lucius Malfoy. Draco was willing to admit, if only to himself, he faded into insignificance next to his father. Lucius was the one with the control, he was the one with the brains and the one with so much confidence and arrogance he could just walk into the enemy camp and demand help. When compared to his father, Draco knew he showed himself as the petty bully he really was. 

Luna appeared next, with Harry trailing after her and Mrs Weasley bringing up the rear, a bag of groceries over her arm. 

“We'll be living here with you too," Harry said, indicating himself, Ron, Hermione and Luna. "We need to be in hiding as much as you do.” 

“I should imagine you need to be out of the public eye at the moment," Lucius said. "What about the Order? Are they staying here?” 

“No, we thought it would look a bit suspicious if known members of the old Order disappeared,” Remus said. 

“You certainly did the right thing. It makes it a little more difficult for the Death Eaters to pin point those in the opposition. Although, I’m sure you already suspect certain people are under constant supervision.” 

“How much can you tell us?” Remus asked. 

“Nothing tonight,” Molly interrupted sternly. “A few more hours will make no difference to any plans you may make, Remus. Mr Malfoy and Draco need to settle in and most importantly they need to sleep. They've had a lot to deal with.” 

A cold chill swept Draco's body. He was dealing with a loss he had no clue how to handle and he didn’t feel strong enough to do it. 

His father had always been busy. Ever since Draco could remember Lucius was doing something, his mind was always turning and plotting. Now Draco wished he could be like that, he would like something to do, something to take his mind off reality for a while. 

Luna plopped into the seat next to him and Draco turned his head to look at her. She wore a red shirt opened at the neck exposing the rapid rise and fall of her chest, and her hair was pulled back into a partly falling down bun, loose tendrils curled around her exposed creamy throat and Draco’s mouth turned unexpectedly dry. She wasn't looking at him, Luna was watching Potter who sat opposite her, and Potter's eyes trained on Lucius Malfoy. Draco noticed everyone was looking at his father. He had that aura about him; Lucius Malfoy commanded attention as soon as he entered the room. 

Molly bustled about the kitchen, putting away the groceries. “I’ll pop by as often as I can to help you keep an eye on these lot.” She waved her arm at the five youngsters who all looked put out that it was felt they needed watching. “I would suggest, Draco dear, you try and get an early night. Today will catch up with you if you don’t.” 

“We’ll be fine, Molly. Don’t you worry.” Remus gave Lucius half a smile. “It’ll be us two against these lot I’m afraid. I’m the only other adult who can be here with you, I won’t be missed you see.” 

Rolling his eyes Lucius seated himself at the head of the table. “Why don’t you say what you mean, Lupin? I can handle five kids without a problem, but you don’t trust Draco and I to be here without constant supervision. You’re afraid something will happen to Potter, or he will miss something I do.” 

“Surely you must understand my concern?” 

“I do.” 

Molly Weasley hugged Ron, Harry, Hermione and Luna goodbye and was assured by Hermione they would all be just fine before she took her leave. 

Draco wasn’t sure exactly how fine he would be forced to live with Potter in his face every day. 

* * * 

Luna stretched out in bed a small yawn escaping her. Placing her book on the nightstand Luna snuggled down under the covers. The bedroom was small and therefore contained heat quite nicely, whereas the larger rooms in the Black house did not. It was not as cosy as her room back home, but Harry had let her pick her own room and she appreciated him allowing her to stay with him and insisting she make herself feel at home. Harry had always been nice to her, not once did he roll his eyes when she spoke or behave dismissively towards her. He always made time for her when he saw her in the corridors at school and had even asked her to Professor Slughorn's party; as friends of course. Harry had often told her they were friends. It was nice to have a friend. 

It wasn't that she didn't like Ron and Hermione, because she did; but Luna got the distinct impression she exasperated Hermione and amused Ron; although both were always pleasant to her. She did prefer Ginny to Hermione. Ginny was much better at feigning interest than Hermione was. In fact, Luna sometimes thought Ginny was genuinely interested in what she had to say. 

Luna had just closed her eyes, fully expecting sleep to take hold of her fairly quickly, when she heard it; a low undistinguishable sound. She lay quietly, holding her breath, ears straining; the sound came again. 

Curiously, Luna took up her wand and padded across the room to peek out into the hallway, body still as she listened. Again she heard it, closer, full of distress and more easily recognisable as a whimper; it came from the door to her immediate left; the room which had become Draco's. Lines creasing her forehead Luna reached out and opened Draco’s bedroom door. 

Holding her wand up high, the faint yellow light spilling from the tip over the carpet, Luna inched further into the room. Draco was muttering and whimpering, squirming on the bed, the covers trailing over the bed into a pile on the floor and his legs tangled up in the sheets. 

She lit the candle beside Draco’s bed to give her more light to see by and stared down at him for a minute, unsure as to what to do. Draco wore a pair of black silk pyjamas, darker patches stood out here and there where the material stuck to his stick in sticky patches. 

Draco's head shifted erratically back and forth on the pillow. A weak tear squeezed itself from the corner of his eye and a low, desperately painful sound forced itself from his throat as he called for his mother. 

Luna shivered at the lonely sound. Balancing with one knee on the bed she tentatively reached out and touched his shoulder. “Draco? Draco wake up.” 

Draco twisted, a painful burning in his chest. There was darkness all around him; icy and unforgiving. Nameless, faceless things watched him with knowing eyes. They knew he was afraid, they knew he was weak and they were just waiting for the right moment to strike and bring him down. 

Then suddenly she was there; his mother’s body lay sprawled on the floor. She looked up at him with accusing eyes; blaming him for her death, condemning him for being weak and useless. 

“Draco, it’s Luna. Open your eyes." Luna shook his shoulder gently. She gave a small cry of surprise when his eyes popped open and his body jerked upright; almost knocking her backwards off the bed. 

Draco dragged in a deep breath. He shivered violently, he was dreadfully cold and disorientated, and he couldn’t seem to breathe properly. He allowed Luna to bend his upper body forward as she rubbed a hand over his back in soothing circles. 

“Luna,” he rasped, his fingers digging into his hair. 

“Yes, it's me. Can I get you anything?” 

“No.” He shook his head, taking another deep breath. 

“It’s all right, it was just a dream, Draco," she said, her voice as low and gentle as she knew how to make it. 

Draco ran a trembling hand through his hair, blinking furiously in an attempt to banish the tears and disorientation. He felt Luna’s arms slide around his shoulders in a hug, her cheek resting against the side of his head as she made soft soothing sounds in his ear. 

Even though he hated how weak it made him feel, Draco couldn’t help turning into the warmth and comfort of Luna’s body. He allowed his head to drop to her shoulder, allowed himself to close his eyes and concentrate on her, pushing his dream, his bad memories away. 

“It’s all right now, Draco,” Luna promised softly. “It‘s only natural to dream of your mother after what you‘ve been through. The dreams won‘t last forever.” 

Draco didn’t speak, he didn’t wonder how Luna knew his mother had haunted his dreams; he guessed it was probably obvious enough. He just hoped Luna was right. Draco couldn’t stand dreaming of his mother’s accusing eyes all the time. 

“Lie back now, Draco. Try to sleep.” She released her hold on him and began to straighten up the bedclothes. 

Obediently, Draco sank back against the pillows, watching her every move as she straightened out the bed and covered his still quivering body. He was warmed by the look of concern on her face and the small worry lines creasing her forehead. 

“How did you know?” His voice sounded thin and hollow, Draco didn’t like it at all. 

“I'm only across the hall, I could hear you. You weren't shouting or anything, but the house is so still and I'm so close the noise carried a little,” Luna replied, her hand smoothing out a wrinkle in the bed sheets. 

She had tucked him up nice and neatly and Draco knew Luna was getting ready to leave. Panic shot through him. He didn’t want Luna to leave him alone in the dark; he wanted the comfort of her presence. He didn’t want to be left on his own. Draco didn’t want to have to lie there waiting for sleep to claim him and drag him back into the darkness where the truth exposed him and there was nowhere to hide. 

“Would you like to talk about it, Draco?” 

“No.” The last thing Draco wanted was to delve into his feelings. He had the sneaky suspicion Luna would want to talk about his feelings; girls always did! 

She stood beside his bed for a moment, pondering the current situation. Luna was far from a fool, and Draco was a lot easier to read than he thought he was. In fact, Luna could see right through him as easily as though he were a cobweb, although she wouldn’t ever say so, she had the feeling he wouldn't like the observation. 

“Would you like me to stay until you fall back to sleep?” 

Draco gave a long suffering sigh. “If you like.” 

Luna hid her smile and settled herself next to him, propping a pillow behind her back. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk?” 

“Positive.” 

She nodded, flicking her wand she summoned a book from the small collection on a shelf in the corner of Draco’s room. “What do we have here?” 

“Who cares,” Draco muttered, rubbing at his bleary eyes. 

“My mother had this book, it’s very good I’ve read it dozens of times,” she said, a small smile curling her lips at her discovery. “Would you like to hear some of it?” 

“Go on then, if you think it’s that good.” Draco wasn’t particularly interested in the book, and he had the feeling Luna knew that and was just reading for something to do, to try to take his mind off things. This suited Draco just fine. He was willing to listen to The Quibbler if it kept them off the subject of his mother. 

“You have to lie back and close your eyes. You’ll be asleep before you know it.” Luna cast a glance at him to make sure he was listening. With another heavy sigh, Draco settled down, tucking his arms behind his head and closing his eyes.

And so Luna read, her voice flowing on into the night lilting softly until she knew Draco had fallen asleep. He turned in his sleep and his arm curled around her waist, his cheek rubbing against her hip.

She looked down at him, absently smoothing his hair back from his forehead. She noticed how his mouth looked soft and vulnerable when he slept; and even when his face was devoid of expression he was still handsome.

Handsome; that was the word to describe Draco, idly Luna wondered why this fact had always irritated her. Handsome or not, Luna didn't like him much and she didn't trust him, he was way too confident and arrogant. Always so damn sure of himself that he thought it was ok to make fun of those less confident like Neville. He was such a snob and unbelievably opinionated, deeming it ok to try to force his own views onto everyone else, and just because his family had money he thought it was acceptable to look down on good people like the Weasley's.

Right now however, Luna supposed it didn't really matter. Draco was simply a boy who had lost his mother, and in such a violent way. His family had been torn apart, his life had changed in a way only a mother's death could change a life.  
She knew how deeply Draco must be suffering. Having lost her own mother at such an early age Luna was able to understand and identify with the feelings of pain and misery; of loss and despair that instilled such terror into Draco. 

She felt sorry for him, how could she not? Luna had a kind heart and even though Draco had done nothing to earn her kindness, Luna would give it anyway, because she felt he deserved it right now and needed a friend. Luna knew what it was like to need a friend and she resolved to be Draco's friend, even though she had the feeling he would fight her every step of the way.


	4. Chapter 4

When Draco woke the next morning he was startled to discover Luna was still beside him propped against the headboard. She slept quietly, her breathing even, her head lolling to the side. Draco stared at her for a few seconds, wondering how it would be possible to move her out of his room without anyone else discovering she had been there. 

Just as he was deciding he didn’t care if he rudely woke her by jabbing her in the ribs his bedroom door opened. 

“Draco, are you up yet?” Lucius walked into the room, stopped short, eyebrows lifting a fraction.

Luna’s eyes fluttered at the noise, she stretched out beside Draco, quickly becoming flustered when her sleepy eyes rested on the formidable Lucius Malfoy. 

“It’s not what you think,” Draco said, acutely aware of how hot his face was. Never had he been caught in any type of situation like this and the reality was humiliating. 

Lucius kept his face impassive, he had always found it easy to control his expressions and emotions. “My apologies, Draco. I assumed you would be up by now, obviously you have more interesting matters to occupy you.” 

“No!” Draco retorted hotly. “It’s not like that.” 

“Draco, I do not need to be kept informed of your nocturnal pastimes. In future I suggest you keep your door locked.” 

“But…” 

“Good morning, Ms Lovegood.” Lucius nodded at Luna before sweeping from the room. Heading down to the kitchen a small frown creased his forehead as he wondered exactly what had prompted Luna Lovegood to spend the night in Draco’s room; he could see very clearly it definitely hadn’t been what it looked like. 

Draco glared at Luna. “Now look what you’ve done!” 

Luna blinked in surprise. “Me? What did I do?” 

He hopped out of bed as though she had burnt him. “You’re lounging around in my bed as though you’ve got every right to bloody well be here. Now my father is going to think Merlin only knows what! Get out!” 

“Draco…” 

“Will you get up!” he yelled irritably. “Who asked you to come in here in the first place? Just shut up and get out!” 

She stared at him for a few seconds with large offend eyes before untangling the sheets from around her legs. Squaring her shoulders, Luna crossed to the door, giving Draco one last look, a chance to apologise, before slipping from the room. 

Glowering, Draco snatched up some clothes and went down the corridor to the bathroom. He took a shower, letting the hot steamy water rain down on him. He ran his hands through his hair, massaging his scalp for a moment. Without warning, a lump came to his throat and Draco struggled to breathe as grief swamped him. He suddenly felt weak, his hands pressing hard against the tiled wall, head bowed beneath the spray. His lips parted as he panted and a low ragged sound passed his lips. 

Mother. Dear Merlin, Mother. 

It would always be like this, it would always tear his heart to shreds to think of the woman who had loved him more than anything and had died for it. He could never take it back. He would live forever knowing his mother had died because he was weak and pathetic. 

Draco spent ages in the bathroom, he stayed in the shower where he could cry undisturbed and unnoticed. The brief thought crossed his mind all he needed was Moaning Myrtle to turn up; his life hadn't changed, he still cried out his fear and worry and weakness in a bathroom. 

Tipping his head back Draco let his tears mingle with the running water. 

XxX

Remus, Hermione, Ron and Lucius were already in the kitchen when Luna made her appearance. Her cheeks pinked a little when she saw Lucius, but he wasn't looking at her, he was staring listlessly into a cup of coffee. 

Ron munched loudly on a piece of toast, Remus was stirring sugar into his tea and Hermione guided a spoonful of cereal to her mouth with an absent air, her eyes fixed on the book she had open in front of her. 

Luna looked again at Lucius; he looked tired and his shoulders sagged, whatever strength he had drawn on to walk into the enemy camp only yesterday had depleted today. Luna's heart went out to him as it did to Draco. She should have been more understanding with Draco, after all, she knew what it meant to lose a mother. 

She had been a lot younger than Draco when her mother died, and she had not had to live with the knowledge her mother had been murdered but the grief would still be the same, the loss of a mother would cut deep no matter how it happened. When her mother died her father had drawn her onto his lap, wrapped his arms around her and explained, as best he could in a way her young mind could grasp, what death meant. He had promised she would see her mother again, even though it wouldn't be for a long, long time. It had helped to talk things through, to ask her childish questions and get an adult answer. Grownups always knew best.

Not that she knew anything about Lucius Malfoy behind closed doors, but Luna would hazard a guess he was not the type to put a comforting arm around his son's shoulders and encourage him to express his grief. In fact, Lucius didn't seem like the type to confront and deal with his own grief, or anything which he could not control on his own terms. He was supposed to help Harry and The Order, but Lucius didn't look up to helping anybody right now. 

Mind fixed on Draco, she busied herself at the stove, frying bacon and mushrooms, placing sausage under the grill and chopping up a tomato. Now that she thought about it, Luna supposed it made sense Draco had been rather harsh with her this morning, he had been using her as a way to let go of some of his anger over the loss of his mother. He would naturally be angry as well as devastated. She should have realised what was happening and not looked at him like some sort of wounded puppy. Draco didn't need the added guilt of hurting her feelings on top of everything else he was dealing with. 

Footsteps entering the room caused Luna to turn around expecting Draco, but it was Harry, green eyes bleary behind his glasses. He took a seat at the table opposite Hermione and reached for some toast. "Morning, Luna. Morning, everyone." 

Luna smiled. "Good morning, Harry."

Harry and Ron made idle conversation about quidditch and how great it was not to have to go to lessons, causing Hermione to throw them a disapproving. Remus joined in a little but Lucius didn't participate, his index finger circled the rim of his mug, his eyes looking inward. He was startled out of thoughts of his wife when Luna plucked the mug of cold coffee from his fingers and put a cooked breakfast in front of him. Lucius blinked and looked up at her. 

"Try and eat just a little, Mr Malfoy," she said encouragingly. "I'll get you some fresh coffee."

Lucius stared at the plate for a moment. He had not asked for this breakfast. He had not demanded it. Luna had simply provided it, because she was kind hearted. He had seen it the previous day at The Burrow when she had been the one to stand beside Draco, offering comfort because she instinctively knew something had to be drastically wrong for only father and son to be present. 

He had no appetite, but Lucius would eat the breakfast, because he didn't want to offend her and to prove to Potter and the others he was capable of being civil towards a blood traitor. Blood status had never been important to those in The Order, and he needed to show he could rise above it too. 

Luna accepted the orange juice Harry poured for her and cut a grapefruit in half with slow precise movements. "Would you like the other half, Hermione?" 

Hermione nodded, putting her empty cereal bowl to one side. "Yes, thank you, Luna." 

"What have you got on for today, Harry?" Luna asked. 

"Well, I guess we'll call a meeting with as many members of The Order as possible and talk with Mr Malfoy. If that's all right with you?" Harry added, glancing down the table towards Lucius. 

Lucius cut into a slice of bacon, he hadn't realised how hungry he was until he started to eat. "Yes, that would be a good first step. I imagine a few members will wish to express their displeasure at my presence here and how much they distrust me." 

Remus smiled slightly. "I imagine they will." 

Harry cleared his throat and shifted about in his seat. "Mrs Weasley will probably be at the meeting, Luna and you know how she feels about anyone underage getting involved with The Order." 

Luna smiled. "Yes, I know, Harry. Don't worry, I'll make myself scare when the others get here." 

"If it was up to me, well, it would be like the DA, anyone who wants to take a stand should be able to," Harry said. "It's just that, well, it's Mrs Weasley." 

"You don't wanna argue with mum," Ron said, the voice of experience. 

"I know," Harry said with a sigh. "I had that argument with her. Well, sort of. She didn't much listen to me or to Sirius."

"She does that a lot. You talk and she doesn't listen and makes you do what she wants anyway. I think it's a mum thing," Ron said wisely. 

Luna half listened to the conversation around her as she ate her grapefruit, alternating keeping an eye on Lucius to ensure he was eating and watching the door for Draco's appearance; but breakfast came to a close and Draco did not appear. Luna didn't think embarrassment over his father walking in on them had anything to do it; Draco was avoiding everyone, Luna could feel it. So, she made some scrambled eggs on toast, poured a goblet of orange juice and took them up to him. 

She knocked lightly on Draco's bedroom door but received no response. With a small shrug, Luna pushed open the door quietly, if Draco had fallen back to sleep she would just leave the food for him and tiptoe out again. 

Draco however was awake, leaning against the headboard he seemed to be just staring into space until she walked through the door. He watched her come closer to the bed but he didn't say anything. 

"You didn't come down to breakfast so I brought you a little something." 

"The fact I didn't go to breakfast might have suggested to other people that I wasn't hungry," Draco retorted. 

"Very true," Luna agreed, placing the tray on the bedside cabinet. "I thought of that, that's why I made you something light, scrambled eggs on toast." 

"I don't want your scrambled eggs." 

"You need to eat, Draco." 

"I don't want it." 

Luna was undeterred. "Maybe not right now. There's a charm on the plate to keep the food warm and fresh so you can eat it in a little while when you do get hungry." 

"I said I don't want your bloody scrambled eggs," he snapped rudely. 

Hermione came into the room and frowned. "There's no need to speak to her like that, Draco. She's only trying to help." 

Draco glared at her, biting his tongue to keep a sharply rude comment at bay. Lovegood he could handle. Granger was something else entirely. He had no idea how he was supposed to interact with her. 

"It's all right, Hermione. Draco doesn't really mean it." 

The expression on Granger's face told Draco she didn't for a second believe that; but she made no further comment about his manners, instead she said, "It's dark in here, isn't it?" 

"Well, the curtains are still closed," Luna pointed out, moving to the window and reaching for the long grey curtains. "I'll just let some light in." 

"I don't want light in," Draco said crossly. 

Luna paused and looked back at him. "Oh, well, whatever you like, Draco." 

"Open the window, Luna, it's a bit airless in here," Hermione said. 

"Yes, let's get some fresh air in here," Luna agreed. 

"I don't like fresh air," came the plaintive response from the bed. 

Luna paused again and exchanged a look of gentle sympathy with Hermione. 

Draco saw the look, was this what his life had come to, only mudbloods and blood traitors to show any kind of concern for him? An irrational anger towards his father washed over Draco. Lucius Malfoy, had always been able to do anything. The Malfoy's had wealth and power, Lucius Malfoy was a conniving schemer, a man who got things done and yet he had gone crawling to Potter for protection. His father had dragged him to this rotten old house of Potter's where he was forced to live with the very same people he had bullied and ridiculed for the last six years. 

It was intolerable. 

 

Lucius Malfoy had made the decision to become a Death Eater, to go running back to the Dark Lord upon his return and put his wife and son in danger. That decision had ended up killing his wife. Draco's mother was dead because of a decision Lucius Malfoy had made. Draco's fists clenched; he wouldn't forgive it. He wouldn't forgive himself and he wouldn't forgive his father either. 

Draco had never stood up to his father; he had always been weak and pathetic. Fury at his own spinelessness mingled with his anger at his father, his all consuming guilt and the overwhelming pain at the loss of his mother and Draco allowed himself to vent his feelings, just as he always had, upon those who wouldn't argue back.

"Leave me alone. I don't want you in here. Get out!"

Luna and Hermione exchanged that sympathetic look again before creeping from the room; Draco almost exploded.


	5. Chapter 5

 

Restless, anger boiling in his veins, Draco got up and began to pace the room. It was far too small for pacing, this room would fit in a corner of his own bedroom. Feeling suddenly closed in, Draco yanked the curtains back, squinting as the sunlight flooded the room. Opening the window, Draco sank down on the window seat resting his forehead against the glass.

There were no front gardens in any of the houses on Potter's street. There was however a small almost circular seating area with flower beds, trees and shrubs which separated the street where Potter's house was situated and the one opposite. Small brown birds, Draco had no idea what type they were, hopped about on the iron fence enclosing the garden. In one of the houses directly opposite a large ginger cat lay on the front wall basking in the sun. A woman came out of the house, in two strides she was at the garden gate. She smoothed the cat before unlocking a car door and driving away. A short time later a man out running came down the pavement in brightly coloured shorts and t-shirt, he turned into the garden, ran out the other side and went off down the road.

A silence fell over the street, broken only by the grating call of a pair of magpies as they fluttered from branch to branch. Draco's eyes slipped out of focus, his mind wandering feebly from one guilty thought to another with no way to stop it. His body slumped, shoulders sagging, tears burning his eyes and a strong unsuspecting sense of loneliness washed over him. Nobody had come to check up on him and he was living in a house full of do-gooders. They must all really hate him. Not that Draco could blame them, in six years he had done nothing to earn their respect or kindness.

His bitter thoughts were interrupted by a joyful childish shout. Looking up, Draco saw a little boy about four years old on a bike peddling furiously down the pavement, the little boy turned into the garden taking the corner a little too quickly causing the front wheel to dip into the flowerbeds. A woman with curly auburn hair who had been following being the little boy laughed, leaning over him she straightened the bike and smoothed his hair.

"I crashed, mummy."

"I told you to be careful," she said, still laughing and the little boy laughed back.

A lump came to Draco's throat, closing his airway until he couldn't breathe as a memory assailed him of the first time he had ridden a broom. He had crash landed and his mother had set him right again, smoothing his hair and kissing his forehead telling him to be careful. With fumbling hands Draco shut the window with a bang, pulling the curtains closed with such force he almost jerked the rings out of the wall. Why did he have to be the one to lose his mother? Why was it his mother who was no longer there? He'd never hear his mother laugh again. They'd never laugh together again. His mother would never stroke his hair again. He'd never feel her cool fingers sweep his forehead again or feel the comfort of her arm around his shoulders.

Dropping face down on the bed Draco buried his face in the pillow to smother the sound of his tears and the harsh grating sobs scratching his throat. How long he cried, Draco didn't know, but when there were no more tears left to fall, he lay still and exhausted, feeling as limp as a wet rag. He was startled by a light knock on the door and he raised his head slightly to see Luna come through the door. Even though he was hidden by the darkness of the room, Draco wiped quickly at his eyes and wished he was able to use magic to erase all evidence of his crying, but it was impossible with her now in the middle of the room and making her way to his bedside. So Draco did the only thing he could think of and turned his back on her, effectively hiding his tear stained, red eyed face.

"You're awake," Luna said, her soft voice calmed him a little.

"Uh huh."

"You didn't eat the scrambled eggs or the toast." She sounded a little disappointed.

"I wasn't hungry."

"You need to eat, Draco. You'll make yourself ill if you don't."

"I don't think skipping breakfast one time is going to hurt that much," he muttered.

"You didn't come down to lunch either. I brought you a sandwich."

He hadn't been aware it was lunchtime. There wasn't a clock in the room and Draco hadn't thought to pack one when he left Malfoy Manor. "I'm still not hungry."

Luna let out a little sigh and put the plate down on the nightstand next to the scrambled egg on toast. "There's an Order meeting going on downstairs," she said, crossing to the arm chair and taking a seat. "Do you mind if I stay here with you?"

"I suppose not."

Luna curled her legs up beneath her, to Draco's surprise she didn't attempt to open the curtains or complain about the darkness of the room. They sat in silence for a while and Draco felt himself begin to relax.

"How come you aren't involved with the meeting?" Draco ventured to ask. "I'd have thought it would be right up your street."

"I'm not seventeen yet," Luna said. "I'm not really allowed to become an official member of The Order until then, Harry wouldn't mind if I sat in on the meetings but Mrs Weasley has very strong views about underage people being involved and so does daddy. In his absence Mrs Weasley makes sure I keep to the rules." She let out a little regretful sigh. "I bet it'll be doubly interesting with your father there."

"Doubly dangerous too," Draco said.

"What makes you say that?"

"Everything will change now my father's involved," Draco predicted.

Luna's brow furrowed. "Isn't that rather the point? He's going to help Harry defeat You Know Who."

"The Order or Potter hasn't done a very good job so far, the Dark Lord is still standing. My father betrayed him. We betrayed him," Draco amended. "The Dark Lord won't let that go, he can't. Which means my father needs Potter to take down the Dark Lord before the Dark Lord gets a chance for revenge."

"Meaning?"

"Fighting," Draco said dully. "Lots of fighting. Be glad you're underage, you're well out of it."

Maybe, Draco reflected, he shouldn't have told her that, she'd probably run and tell Potter all about it. Surely though, it wouldn't come as a surprise that Lucius Malfoy was helping The Order out of purely selfish reasons. They wouldn't trust him, not really, but they'd give him the benefit of the doubt because they were the good guys.

"Don't you want to fight, Draco? Don't you want to take a stand for what's right?"

Her tone was merely curious, there was no malice or mockery hidden beneath. Draco let out a sigh. "I'm too tried to care."

"Yes," Luna said soothingly. "I expect you are. You've been through a lot and you've had to do it on your own. It can be tiring not having someone to turn to. And of course, there's your mother," she added. "Greif can be all consuming and draining. Missing someone you love can be tiring. Sometimes it feels never ending, but it isn't. You'll come out the other side, Draco you just have to give it time."

Draco didn't dispute her words, he figured she was probably right. People did tend to come through tragedies and move on with their lives and he didn't think he was any different. He just didn't want to think about a life without his mother right now. Besides, with the war going on and having betrayed the Dark Lord, who knew if he'd end up with any kind of life. If the Dark Lord found them, both he and his father would eventually pay the highest price for their betrayal.

The scent of nail polish suddenly reached him and Draco's chest squeezed so tight for a moment he couldn't breathe. He remembered watching his mother paint her nails when he was a little boy. A long forgotten memory assailed him; before he had quite grasped the difference between nail polish and paint, his mother had patiently submitted to him painting her nails all different colours with his new paint pots. Nobody would ever guess by looking at her that the sophisticated and elegant Narcissa Malfoy had once spent the day with multicoloured paint drying in hard blobs on her nails. But she was his mother first and foremost and she liked to play with him and indulge him.

"Draco? Are there many Auror's who are Death Eaters that you know of?"

"Huh?" Draco blinked, bringing himself back to the present.

"Auror's," Luna repeated , "are many of them Death Eaters? I just thought if you clarify that, well, it might go quite a way to proving the Rotfang Conspiracy."

"The what?"

"Rotfang Conspiracy," Luna said patiently. "It's a theory of daddy's, he wrote quite the lengthy article about how the Auror's are working from within to bring down the Ministry using a combination of dark magic and gum disease. I thought maybe, as the Death Eaters are also trying to bring down the Ministry, it might make sense if some Death Eaters were Auror's."

"Uh huh," Draco muttered, eyes rolling upwards.

Luna seemed to take his response as an invitation to go into greater detail and she chatted on about the Rotfang Conspiracy. Her voice was soft and quiet; soothing. Draco's eyes drifted shut and with the certain knowledge Luna Lovegood was close by to ward off the darkness, Draco fell asleep.

XxX

The Order Members were gathered in the kitchen, Hermione, the Weasley family, Kingsley Shaklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, Mungdungus Fletcher and Fleur Delacour. They were the only ones who knew the address of the Order Headquarters, Dumbledore had felt the less people who knew exactly where the Order met the better.

Lucius sat at the head of the table with Harry on his right and Remus on his left. He observed those in the room as they watched him; warily, suspiciously, but with a certain reluctant. They were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

He folded his hands on top of the table. "First of all, each and every one of you have to realise and accept exactly what you are; rebels and traitors."

"We're no such thing," Molly said with a sniff.

"The Dark Lord has control of the Ministry. That means the Dark Lord is in power. All those who actively oppose any regime currently in power are considered rebels," Lucius said.

"He has a point, mum," Charlie Weasley said quietly.

"So we take back the Ministry?" Harry asked.

"Sounds good," Tonks said. "Then we can stop these stupid laws which keep popping up."

Lucius shook his head. "First things first. The Ministry shouldn't be your priority."

Arthur exchanged a look with Kingsley. "I'm sorry, Malfoy, but I don't follow you. If we have the Ministry then the Dark Lord..."

"Would still have power," Lucius interrupted. "Infiltrating the Ministry was of course a big and important step in his quest for power, but there was something else he needed. The strongest bargaining tool, if he should need it."

"What would that be?" Remus asked.

"Hogwarts," Lucius said simply. "Your children are effectively sitting in the palm of his hand."

A stunned silence filled the room and Molly gasped, her hand going to her throat. "We shouldn't have sent Ginny back to school. Oh why did we send her back?"

Arthur placed an arm around his wife's shoulders. "We did what we thought was best for her. We thought she'd be safe there. Minerva is there and Horace and Poppy, the staff will look out for the students. I'd put my money on Minerva any day."

Harry though of all those at Hogwarts, all his friends, all those who had joined Dumbledore's Army and had fought against the Death Eaters when Malfoy had let them into the school. They weren't kids anymore, they knew how to defend themselves and anyone else who needed it. The DA would stand beside their professors and fight if they had to, Harry was sure of it. Although, he hoped they wouldn't have to.

"Can't we just go to the school and get rid of Snape and the Carrow's?" Fred suggested.

"That's just the kind of mistake the Death Eater's want you to make," Lucius said. "There are Death Eaters in Hogsmead just waiting for the Order to do something like that. What we do, is take Hogsmead."

"Take Hogsmead," George repeated.

"You mean, we fight?" Harry asked.

Lucius fixed Harry with a long look. "The time has come to go to war, Potter."

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

It was warm on top of the Astronomy Tower. Hidden in the shadows, Draco's stomach knotted uncomfortably, his breath came in quick short bursts and his palms were so sweaty he could hardly keep a grip on his wand.

When Dumbledore appeared it was blind panic which forced Draco to reveal himself. Knowing his aunt and the other Death Eaters were nearby, waiting, watching, expecting; Draco was caught between a rock and a hard place and like a frightened rabbit he came forward to face the man he was to kill.

Snape's voice sounded in the darkness. "Avada Kedava!"

The green light illuminated the world.

It all appeared to be in slow motion as Draco watched Dumbledore tumble over the edge of the turret and begin his decent. Except it suddenly wasn't Dumbledore falling, it was his mother. She drifted like a feather, blonde hair fanning out around her and her blue eyes wide and accusing, silently cursing him for not doing what needed to be done.

Draco shot upright with a scream lodged in his throat and skin clammy with perspiration. His eyes went instantly to the chair where Luna had been sitting, but she wasn't there. Draco swallowed, a cold feeling catching and squeezing at his chest; he was alone.

Pressing thumb and forefinger into his eyes Draco tried to push the nightmarish images away. He had just gotten his breathing under control when the door opened and his father appeared.

Lucius paused in the doorway. "Why is it so dark in here?"

"No reason," Draco muttered, running a hand across his forehead.

"You haven't eaten the sandwich Miss Lovegood brought up."

"I wasn't hungry." Draco reached for the pumpkin juice and took a long drink. "I thought you were having a meeting with Potter."

"The meeting has adjourned for the time being. Other members of The Order must be contacted and strategies agreed upon. We are going to war, Draco."

"We're already in a war," Draco snapped, a feeling of irritation scratching away beneath the surface of his skin; as if he could ever forget they were in the middle of a war. His father had been there through the first war and he had been right there at the start of the second. His father had told him all about the return of the Dark Lord and Draco had taken great delight in harbouring the delicious secret over everyone else at school. If his father had just stayed away from the graveyard at Little Hangleton everything would be as it should. His mother would still be alive and he would be at Hogwarts right now instead of cooped up with Potter.

"Very true," Lucius agreed. "However, as I told Potter, now is the time to take action, we have to take the fight to the Death Eaters."

Draco snorted. "Bet Potter couldn't wait to put on his hero cloak."

"Potter is willing to do what must be done."

Draco shot a look at his father, he sounded almost proud.

"I will of course help and accompany Potter, and in return you will stay here. I have arranged to keep you out of everything."

Draco stared at his father for a long moment. War meant death, he had seen death up close and had no desire to see it again. Draco had even less of a desire to find himself in a situation where he was to kill someone, he couldn't do it the first time and feared he might end up dead himself the second time.

On the other hand, he didn't much like the idea of those in the house and The Order thinking him too cowardly to fight. The other implication was so intolerable Draco couldn't keep quiet.

"Do you think I'm useless?" he demanded, getting to his feet. "Don't you think I'm as capable as Potter?"

"You are my son, Draco. You are a pureblood and a Malfoy, and that makes you superior to all those in this house," Lucius said firmly. "I have never doubted your capabilities, but this is not about capabilities, this is about keeping you safe, keeping what is left of my family intact. I will not lose you, Draco." Lucius grasped Draco's shoulders staring intently into his sons face. "Besides, you must look at the bigger picture, if the Dark Lord triumphs and you are not seen fighting you can honestly say you never raised your wand against him. It just might spare you life."

Draco marvelled, his father really did think of everything.

"I shall be busy with Potter and The Order over the next few days planning the attack on Hogsmead. In the meantime, Draco, I know it's difficult, but do try to be amenable."

Draco couldn't see him, Potter, Weasley and Granger all getting along swimmingly. He was saved the necessity of answering when the door opened and Luna appeared.

"Where have you been?" Draco heard the demand leave his lips before he realised he was even thinking it. The next words out his mouth appalled him even more. "I woke up and you weren't there."

Luna's smile slipped, a startled look crossing her face. "I'm sorry, Draco. I only went to get a drink."

Looking just as startled, Lucius glanced from his son to Luna, but he saw nothing to explain Draco's sudden outburst.

"I must get on," Lucius said. "Remember what I said, Draco."

Draco nodded. "Yes, father."

"Is everything all right, Draco?" Luna asked once Lucius had left. "Can I get you anything? You still haven't eaten."

"Everything's fine." In an effort to keep her quiet Draco picked up the sandwich and took a bite. He chewed slowly and put the sandwich back on the plate, it only made him feel sick. It was then he noticed she had something tucked under one arm. "What's that?"

"My sketchpad," Luna said brightly. "You have a much nicer view from your window than I do from mine. I thought I'd do some sketching while you slept. Oh dear," she touched her fingertips to her lips. "I suppose I should have asked. I suppose it would be rather odd, wouldn't it? You sleeping and me sitting in the window drawing."

Draco sank onto the bed, a sudden feeling of relief sweeping over him at the thought of her buffering presence while he slept. "Draw if you want to, I don't care."

"We could talk, if you'd prefer."

"I don't prefer," he said shortly.

"It might..."

"I just want things back the way they were," his tone was sharper than he intended.

"Things will never be the way they were, Draco. Now you have something different and for your own peace of mind you should try to appreciate what you do have." She gave him a sweet smile. "It's early days, you're still grieving, but, maybe one day, you'll at least see the beauty of incomplete things."

Draco's brow furrowed. He couldn't quite understand what Luna was saying, but the words were comforting and her voice was soothing and Draco was more than willing to comforted and soothed. There was truth to her words even if he couldn't grasp what it was. He watched her as she pulled the curtain back a little and settled herself in the window seat; perhaps, Draco mused, in spite of her earlier prattle about the Rotfang conspiracy, there was more to her than her loony reputation suggested.

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

Draco's life at Grimmauld Place didn't vary over the next few days. He left his room only to go to the bathroom and go through his morning ablutions, then he would creep back and look out the window watching the muggles go about their business until Luna arrived with his breakfast. Eating still made him feel sick, but then not eating made him feel sick too, so he would nibble on toast or sandwiches throughout the day to try and stave off a headache.

Each night he would sit up, reading the boring books from the shelf in the corner, staring out at the night sky trying not to think dark thoughts and keep awake. He would sleep during the day when Luna arrived, drifting away as her soft voice washed over him, her presence the perfect buffer to his nightmares. If Luna thought him rude for sleeping while she visited she didn't say so. She would draw the curtain back enough so she could perch in the window seat, always ensuring the light never fell across his bed and disturbed him, and she would sketch the houses and the little garden and the birds which came to visit. Luna, he had discovered, didn't just like magical creatures, she loved all creatures. She was full of little facts about the birds which visited the garden and Draco felt he was becoming quite expert on the subject too.

His father dropped by during the day, Lucius didn't much comment on his instance in staying in his room, Draco got the impression his father was far too occupied with his war plans to bother about his son's odd habit of hiding in his bedroom. Draco was glad he didn't have to worry about becoming part of the war plans, he didn't have the stomach for war. He wasn't brave, he was a survivor. Let Potter do the fighting, that was what Potter was for.

Draco deliberately kept his mind from thoughts of his father fighting against those he had betrayed. He had enough keeping him awake as it was. Draco felt as though he hadn't had a decent night sleep for years, not since his father had been incarcerated into Azkaban. His life had snowballed since that moment, quickly gathering momentum until he ended up under Potter's protection with nowhere else to go.

A light tap on the door made him retreat further into the shadows of the room. "Come in." A frown furrowed his brow when Granger appeared with the tray usually held by Luna.

"I've brought your breakfast." She crossed the room and placed the tray on the little coffee table.

"Where's Luna?" It came out more of a demand than a question and Draco winced, but Granger made no comment on his lack of manners.

"She's talking to Professor Lupin. She'll be up shortly." Hermione paused and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "How are you?"

Draco blinked in surprise but managed to summon enough civility to respond. "Fine, I suppose."

"You should, um, well, come down to the meetings. I know you aren't going to be involved out in the field so to speak, but you could help with strategies. You did get the Death Eaters into Hogwarts after all."

"I wouldn't have thought you'd have considered that a positive."

"I didn't say it was positive. I meant it was clever of you. Credit where it's due. Besides, staying cooped up in this room twenty four hours a day isn't healthy. Luna's worried about you. If you got involved with The Order it would give you a bit of a purpose."

"It's your purpose, not mine," Draco replied shortly. "I've had a purpose, Granger, it's not all its cracked up to be."

Before Hermione could respond Luna came into the room. She smiled brightly from one to the other. "Are you getting along?"

Hermione smiled a little. "We aren't fighting at any rate."

"Well, that's progress," Luna said. "Are you staying, Hermione?"

"No, I have to get back downstairs, the meeting will be starting soon. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Hermione," Luna said as Hermione shut the door behind her. "Morning, Draco. Come and eat your breakfast." She went straight to the window, pulling the curtain back and taking her seat in the corner with her legs pulled up and her sketch pad resting upon her knees.

Draco sat in the ratty old armchair and began on his breakfast, a soft boiled egg with toast cut into soldiers. "Did my father tell you about this?"

"About what?"

"About how egg and soldiers was my favourite breakfast growing up."

"No, he didn't say anything. I liked it growing up too, but somehow the older I got the less I had it. I just thought it would be fun."

"I guess it is," Draco said, willing to be generous.

"There's a new cat out here today," Luna commented a few moments later. "I hope the ginger cat across the road won't start fighting with it. Oh, look, Draco," Luna started to laugh. "Come and look, it's chasing a butterfly."

Draco went to look, standing at her shoulder watching a brown tabby cat rock onto its back paws, front paws waving in the air as it jumped after a butterfly. Luna laughed again as the cat dived into the flower bed, getting the flower petals confused with the butterfly and pouncing on the loose petals. Draco laughed too and Luna's head tipped back to look at him. Her laugh stuck in her throat and her smile froze and then dropped.

"Draco!"

Her gasp made him flinch and step back, looking to retreat into the shadows, but she caught hold of him, her fingers closing around his wrist.

"You look awful." She frowned at him. "That's why you like keeping the room dark, so that I can't see your face and see how terrible you look."

"I'm fine," he said gruffly.

Her thumb rubbed gently over his wrist bone. "You aren't fine, Draco. You look ..."

"Awful. Yes, you've already said that," Draco snapped. He was well aware of how dark and sunken his eyes were, of his gaunt face and sallow skin, he had taken steps to keep it from her and now there he stood in the cold light of day, his secret exposed and there was no way to take it back.

"You need proper meals, a decent sleep, fresh air and some sunlight," Luna said decisively. "And you can start by eating every bit of your breakfast or I'll be forced to tell your father."

Draco glowered. "There's no need to involve my father."

"Not if you start taking better care of yourself."

Lips pursing in a sulk, Draco sat back in the chair and began on his breakfast. Oddly, now Luna knew his secret, he felt a little of his appetite come back. It was only then he realised he'd also had the added worry of keeping her in the dark as to how he really wasn't coping all that well being in Grimmauld Place.

"Did you have a pet growing up, Draco?"

He swallowed a bite of egg, confused at the sudden change of subject. "Huh?"

"A pet," Luna repeated. "I had a cat growing up, but it died two years before I went to Hogwarts. I didn't have a pet after that, I didn't like to think of taking it to Hogwarts with me and leaving daddy alone and I didn't like the idea of leaving it behind either. We used to have budgies, daddy likes birds, but he was always forgetful about closing each door and window and they always ended up flying away."

"I have an eagle owl. We have Albino peacocks and father had two Scottish Deerhounds, they've, um, passed on now." His father had gone to Azkaban, he had gone to Hogwarts and upon his return the dogs were nowhere to be seen. His mother had never told him what had happened to them and Draco hadn't wanted to know. "I had a lamb once, when I was little."

Luna's face lit up and Draco felt ridiculously pleased at being the cause of it. "A lamb? Really? How lovely."

Draco nodded. "Mother used to read me a story about a lamb and then one day she turned up with one, it had a big blue bow around its neck. I don't remember too much about the lamb, I was very young when I had him."

"I'd have liked a lamb," Luna said with sigh. "In fact, I'd like a house full of pets. We have lots of wildlife around our home, we live right out in the middle of nowhere with lots of fields and woods. All kinds of birds come to the garden and I've seen rabbits in the fields, and some hedgehogs in the garden, is it the same at your home? I mean, your home is Malfoy Manor, isn't it? I imagine it's what's known as an estate, and that means lots of land, doesn't it?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, there's a lot of land. It's walled off of course, but there are lots of trees and bushes at the edge of the estate to cover the walls, there's wildlife of a sort down there. Father brought me rabbits when I was about seven, they live in the grounds and I had a story book about a family of hedgehogs I used to read all the time and father bought me some, they live on the grounds too."

"You really have been quite spoiled, Draco."

She tossed a smile at him and Draco felt his shoulders relax, she wasn't criticizing him or his mother. She was merely making an observation, one which he couldn't and had no wish, to deny. Draco saw nothing wrong with his every whim and desire being fulfilled. His parents had the wealth and inclination to grant his every wish and they had always done so, and he had always enjoyed being the first to own something and parading his wealth and privilege in front of others.

His forehead creased in thought, he couldn't help wondering if in fact his upbringing had left him ill-equipped to deal with the world. When it came time for him to stand on his own two feet, he had floundered, he had fallen and hadn't been able to get back up again. Always having everything handed to him on a silver platter had left him weak and helpless without his father there to back him up. Perhaps if he had been told to sort his own messes out he might have found a better way forward for himself and his mother and she would be alive at this moment.

Coming out of his thoughts, Draco noticed Luna was still looking at him, her eyes unblinking, her face soft and understanding. "I think," she said gently, "it would be nice to give the people I love everything they could want."

He was a spoiled brat and she knew it, and in that moment Draco knew she didn't hold it against him. Somehow he knew that everything which had passed between them before was now forgiven. It was a nice feeling.

XxX

Below Draco and Luna, in what had once been Orion Black's study, sat Harry with Lucius, Hermione, Ron, Remus, Arthur, Charlie and Bill. They had just come to the decision that Charlie, who had turned out to be good at helping Lucius plan out numerous strategies for their attempted takeover at Hogsmead, should lead The Order in the attack, when a silver wolf materialised in the centre of the room and Tonk's voice came at them.

"The Dark Mark has been cast over Hogsmead. Come quickly."

A shocked silence greeted the urgent summons and Harry felt his heart picking up speed. He had been in battles before, he had even faced off against Voldemort, but somehow this was different. When he went to The Department of Mysteries he had been looking to rescue Sirius, and while a fight with the Death Eaters had not been unexpected, still the prospect of it had only hovered on the peripheral edges of his mind, he had not gone looking for a fight. Now he was walking right into not just a fight but an out and out battle between The Order and the Death Eaters. It was very different indeed.

There was movement about him as everyone got up, getting themselves ready.

"You should take charge, Charlie," Bill was saying.

Arthur cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes, Bill's right. We should start as we mean to go on. Do you have a plan of action, Charlie?"

"I want to see how many members we can gather together and see how things are at Hogsmead. I don't want to rush into something on a wing and a prayer. We've got to be organised if we're going to stand a chance," Charlie replied, following his father to the door.

Taking his wand from the top of his cane Lucius strode across the room, he paused, sharp grey eyes meeting the altogether gentle, yet fierce brown eyes of Arthur, his quiet, firm warning stilling the room. "Stay close, Weasley. Stay close."                                          

 

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Draco had just finished his breakfast when the bedroom door opened and his father appeared, a set look on his face. Draco's stomach immediately knotted in response.

"Hello, Mr Malfoy," Luna said with a smile.

Lucius nodded to her. "Miss Lovegood. Draco, I've come to tell you The Order is going to Hogsmead, the Dark Mark has been cast. I will accompany them of course to keep an eye on Potter."

"You're going up against the Death Eaters?" Draco said softly. He knew this day would come, why else had his father gone to The Order, why else had he busied himself with strategies and such like with Potter. Draco just hadn't expected it to come so soon. It felt as though they were hardly through the front door before his father was walking out of it. This would not be a fight or a skirmish, this would be a battle, a real battle and Draco felt his throat closing up. His father was a strong and capable wizard, he knew the darkest of spells and curses and wouldn't hesitate to use them if he had to, but the Death Eaters knew spells and curses of equal darkness and they also wouldn't hesitate to use them.

"You're all going?" Luna queried. When Lucius nodded she stood up and made her way to the door. "I'd better go and say goodbye to Harry."

Draco took the opportunity to move into the darker corners of the room to ensure his haggard appearance remained unseen. His father was going into battle, the last thing he needed was to split his focus and begin worrying about him. After all, there was nothing wrong with him a few nights of proper sleep wouldn't cure.

"Try not to worry unduly, Draco. I have no intention of dying without first coming face to face with Bellatrix."

Draco flinched at the mention of his aunt. Bellatrix hadn't been possessed of maternal instincts, but she had been pleasant to him, she had been nice. Bellatrix had spent weeks with him trying to get him ready for his task for the Dark Lord. She had stood up for him against other Death Eaters when his father was in Azkaban and she'd had faith in his ability to carry out his task. Since she had returned, Bellatrix had behaved as his aunt, she had treated him as a beloved nephew, taking pride in his academic achievements and encouraging him to learn all she had to impart. She had been a loving sister, supporting her little sister through her husbands incarceration. They had been a family. Draco had believed he could rely on his aunt in his father's absence. It made her betrayal all the more painful.

"I have complete faith in you, father," Draco said.

"Thank you, Draco. I am not without skill and I know my enemy. That is half the battle you know, knowing your enemy. However, it is not the Death Eaters but Potter who concerns me at the moment."

"Potter?"

Lucius rolled his shoulders. "Potter has a nasty little habit of hero-worshipping Dumbledore. Whilst it was convenient in order to secure his help for our escape and keeping you safe, it is not conducive to my plans for the death of the Dark Lord. There is, I feel, a reliance upon Potter for the ending of this war and at the moment he has no will to kill. Perhaps witnessing an actual battle, where he will see friends fall, may motivate him in the right direction."

Only his father, Draco mused, could waltz into the enemy camp and expect to behave like a puppeteer with The Order's Chosen One. If he was ever to be free of the death sentence hovering over him, Draco could only hope his father would succeed. Only the death of the Dark Lord would allow them both to return to Malfoy Manor and the lives they should be living.

"I'd better be off, I think the sight of Potter will probably be beneficial to those fighting with The Order, and then I can bring him back here where it's safe," Lucius mused. "I will see you shortly, Draco."

"Yes," Draco agreed. "I'll see you shortly father." He wasn't the superstitious type, but Draco still couldn't bring himself to say goodbye or good luck. It felt a bit like tempting fate.

XxX

When Luna arrived in the study she was surprised to walk in on an argument between Harry, Hermione and Ron. Remus was also there, sitting in an arm chair staring at them with Bill and Charlie exchanging confused looks. Hermione looked annoyed, Ron was flushed red and Harry looked as though he were about to explode.

"I think it's a bad idea," Hermione replied. "We've got other things we need to do, Harry, in case you've forgotten."

"I haven't forgotten," Harry snapped. "But I don't know what else to do, Hermione. At least I can help if we go to Hogsmead."

"Well I'm going," Ron said. "If my brothers are there fighting I need to be there too."

Hermione took a breath. "I understand, Harry, but we can't afford for you to get hurt, or worse. We have to continue with Dumbledore's work. You know how important it is, Dumbledore took you with him, he explained everything. Dumbledore gave his life for it."

Harry's temper flared. "I know! But I don't know what to do, Hermione. I don't know where to look or where to go. There's no great plan. Dumbledore didn't leave me a step by step guide. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do next."

Lucius appeared at Luna's shoulder. "What's going on?" he looked from Ron to Harry to Hermione.

Hermione pinked and turned away with a slight shake of her head.

"Nothing," Harry said through grit teeth.

"It's obviously something," Lucius said.

"None of your business," Ron snapped.

"Ron," Charlie said sternly. "Manners. And Lucius is right, something is going on you haven't told us about."

"Sounds like some sort of mission from Dumbledore," Bill said.

"If you need to be elsewhere, Harry we'll all understand," Remus said.

Lucius jaw tightened a fraction.

"I don't need to be elsewhere," Harry replied. "I want to go to Hogsmead. I want to fight."

"What's the good of going to Hogsmead? What's the good of fighting when you know the only way to..." Hermione stopped abruptly and took another breath. "You know what you have to do, Harry."

Harry turned away from Hermione, frustration clouding his face. His eyes fell on her and Luna smiled tentatively. "I came down to say goodbye."

Harry smiled back. "Thanks, Luna."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not right now, Luna. Thanks. Should we be going, Mr Malfoy?"

"Yes," Lucius said. "We should. Don't go rushing into the fray, Potter," he warned. "I don't want you getting hit even by accident. Your job is to be seen and draw the Death Eaters out. As soon as they know your there they'll come for you."

"You want an army of Death Eaters to show up?" Ron glowered. "He's setting a trap. You can't trust him, Harry."

"If he was setting up a trap he'd take Malfoy with him," Harry said irritably.

"Nothing stopping Malfoy following or going home as soon as we're out the door," Ron pointed out.

"Draco isn't going anywhere," Luna said quietly. She could understand Ron's distrust of the Malfoy's, but she felt sure he wouldn't feel that way if he saw Draco. Draco was in no fit state to think of subterfuge.

"If we're going, we should actually get going," Charlie said. "Come on, Bill."

"I'm coming too," Ron said.

"Well don't get yourself killed, mum will never let me hear the end of it," Charlie said with a grin.

"Harry," Luna said softly, and he paused beside her to listen. "No matter how dark and twisted the path may seem, you'll end up doing what you need to do one way or the other."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew," Harry muttered.

"You are who you are, Harry. There's no getting away from it. You're The Chosen One, and you'll ...."

"Do Chosen One things," Ron supplied making Harry laugh.

Luna smiled and nodded. "Yes, you'll do Chosen One things. Maybe Dumbledore didn't get around to telling you everything, we always think we have more time than we actually have, but it sounds like he set you on the path. Don't think too much about the twists and turns, don't worry about dead ends, just keep going, Harry. You'll come to the answer."

"Very well put, Luna," Remus said.

"Exactly," Hermione said, folding her arms across her chest.

"I'm still going to Hogsmead," Harry said stubbornly.

"Don't forget, Potter," Lucius grabbed him by the shoulder. "Be seen. Don't be a hero."

Remus rubbed the back of his neck as he rose from the chair. "I'm really not comfortable using Harry as bait."

Harry shrugged. "It's fine. I don't mind. I know I'm the one they want."

"Any Death Eater worth his salt will come running as soon as there's a glimpse of Harry Potter," Lucius said. "Each one of them will be desperate to capture him and hand him over to the Dark Lord. If they're congregating in Hogsmead then they aren't congregating anywhere else."

"Where else?" Bill asked warily. "You mean my parents house, don't you? That's why you told my father to stay close."

"It's a possibility."

Ron turned on Lucius. "Why the hell didn't you say something earlier? We could have gone with him."

Lucius scowled. "He didn't want you there. Parents go through life protecting their children. You stand a better chance at Hogsmead than you would at your house. Your father is well aware of that which is why he didn't take you with him. Use some sense, there must be some rattle around that thick skull of yours. And while we're on the subject on common sense, if you're coming to Hogsmead you'll bloody well listen and take orders. I won't have you rushing headlong into things and getting Potter killed or captured. Do you understand?"

Ron glowered. "I wouldn't put Harry in danger."

"Not deliberately," Lucius allowed.

"We've fought Death Eaters before, you were there, remember?" Ron said.

Lucius snorted and rolled his eyes. "What happened at the Department of Mysteries was unplanned, no thought or strategy really went into it because we underestimated you. Do not make the same mistake, Weasley. Never underestimate your enemy.” “We still beat you,” Ron replied stubbornly. “No we didn’t." Luna said. "We only won because The Order turned up to help us. Don’t you think you should listen to the voice of experience, Ron?” "This is just what Mr Malfoy is talking about, Ron. Listening," Bill said. "If you aren't going to listen you aren't coming and that's final."

“Just remember what you witnessed at the Department of Mysteries was a complete farce, do not make the mistake of thinking all battles will be like that one," Lucius warned. "Give the Death Eaters a chance and they are the best warriors on this earth.” “It’s best we don’t give them a chance then,” Harry replied.

"The voice of reason," Lucius said. "Come along, Potter. There is work to be done."

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

When Luna appeared in the doorway Draco knew his father had left. He knew there was nobody in the house save for them. Luna, because she was considered too young to fight. Him, because he didn't have it in him to fight. A wave of shame washed over him at this realisation, but still he couldn't find it in himself to take up his wand and follow in his father's footsteps.

With a wave of her wand, Luna opened the curtains and summoned the breakfast tray. "Come on, Draco, you may as well look around the rest of the house, there's nobody here to see you."

Sighing, Draco followed her from the room. He didn't want to stay up there by himself, and besides, he was getting rather sick of the same four walls with the peeling wall paper and the cracks in the ceiling.

"That's my room, of course," Luna said as she passed her bedroom door. She paused at the end of the corridor, the bathroom stood on the corner. "Around the corner is Professor Lupin's room. It's the closest bedroom to the stairs, easier to get him into bed after a full moon and the living room is around there too." She gestured towards the stairs. "Your father is up there, so is Hermione. Harry and Ron share a room up there too."

Draco hadn't been down the stairs since had he gone up them the very first day he had arrived. His lip curled, he'd forgotten about the shrunken heads of the house elves. Gas lamps gave off a dim glow from the wall brackets, but there really wasn't much light in this part of the house, Draco had to be careful not to miss his footing and go tumbling down the stairs.

"Over there is the study and next to it is the library." Luna waved towards the respective doors and entered the kitchen setting the breakfast tray on the table and sending the plate to the sink to be washed. She cast the necessary spell and went to the fridge, taking out a pitcher of orange juice before rummaging around in the cupboards.

Standing in the hallway, Draco examined his surroundings, turning to look down the long corridor at the entrance hall. It must have been quite a sight back in the day, but like the rest of the house, the carpet was worn thin and it held the distinct look of dusty disrepair. Portraits adorned the wall, not unlike Malfoy Manor, and a large chandelier hung from the ceiling, but it was not as ornate as the ones he was used to. This one was old and rusted, cobwebs still dangled from it. The decoration itself Draco noted, was very one note; all serpents. It left no room to wonder which Hogwarts house the Black family patronized. He was a Slytherin, as were his parents, but Malfoy Manor did not reflect the family's sorting into the house. Malfoy Manor held a centuries old style, classic and sophisticated as befitted such a pureblood family.

"What's that curtain?" He pointed down the hallway.

"Oh that." Luna's lips pursed. "That's the portrait of Walburga Black, she was Sirius' mother. It's stuck there with a permanent sticking charm. Sirius apparently tried all ways to get rid of it. The moment she sees a mudblood or blood traitor she starts screaming at the top of her lungs, so she's kept covered."

Draco squinted in the dimness. "Is that... what is that umbrella stand?"

"The severed leg of a troll," Luna said, a distinct note of disapproval in her voice. "I don't know why someone doesn't move it, Tonks is always bumping into it and knocking if over. Down those stairs is the basement." Luna pointed to a set of stone steps and picked up the tray now holding a plate of biscuits, a pitcher of orange juice and two goblets. She came to join him in the corridor. "The dining room is the third door."

Draco pushed open the door and peered inside. It was a fairly large room, but it was long rather than wide. The dresser stood against the wall displaying the Black family crest and china. There was a long wooden table and chairs down the centre of the room and hanging light fixtures.

"It's very plain," he said, a disappointed look crossing his face. "If it wasn't for the crest I wouldn't imagine it belonged to the Black's at all."

"Don't you like it?"

Draco sniffed. "What's to like? Our dining room furniture is white and edged in gold. The table and chair are hand crafted Italian baroque and the chairs have mink seats. We have twelve arm baroque chandeliers in our dining room. The whole room is decorated in the baroque style, actually."

"It sounds very elegant," Luna offered.

"It is." Draco sniffed again. "Not like this."

Luna couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's go and sit upstairs in the living room, there isn't much else to see down here." Carrying the tray, she led the way back upstairs. "I don't know why Harry doesn't get rid of these heads," she muttered.

"I would have thought it was the first thing he would have done," Draco said. "Can't image it sits well with him."

"It doesn't," Luna said. "But in fairness, he's had a lot going on and the weird way Mrs Black chose to decorate probably isn't anywhere near even making it onto his list of priorities." Once up the stairs Luna turned down the corridor and used her shoulder to open the door to the living room. "Here we are, the living room."

Draco followed her into the room. "Drawing room," he corrected.

"Drawing room," she agreed amiably.

"Is this it?" He closed the door behind him. "Isn't there a breakfast room, or a parlour or a morning room?"

Luna shook her head. "No, this is it."

Draco sniffed once more and looked around. At one time Draco could appreciate the room had been quite grand, but like the rest of the house, it now had a musty smell and neglected air. The windows didn't offer him a new view, it was the same side of the house as his bedroom. He did take some time to inspect the contents of the two glass cases flanking the fireplace, the bottles of blood and snake skins didn't bother him, they were pretty stand items for dark wizards. He should know, his father housed all kinds of things at Malfoy Manor.

"Ron said a boggart lived in the writing desk when The Order moved back in," Luna said. "But I use it now, for my studies."

"Studies?"

"Hermione brought everything with her when she left home, including her school books from last year. Her notes are quite extensive and Professor Lupin has been using them to teach me so I don't fall behind not attending school this year." She smiled brightly. "He was my favourite teacher, it's fun having him all to myself."

Draco's brow creased slightly.

"We've set up a little potions lab in the basement too. My potions were getting much better with Professor Slughorn. I could hold my own with Professor Snape, but somehow I didn't seem to improve."

"It probably wasn't you. Snape's hard to please."

There was a piano set against the wall and Draco wandered over to it, running his fingers lightly across the closed lid. "Does Potter play?"

"Harry?" Luna laughed. "Oh no. Harry can't play a note. Hermione can play a little and she's been teaching Ron some simple songs. I don't think Ron is all that interested, but he does it to please Hermione. Can you play, Draco?"

"Yes, I can play. My mother insisted I learn. Growing up I didn't like having to sit for my lessons, but I don't mind playing now. My mother could play. Sometimes we played together." His mind drifted for a few minutes, remembering. He had the sudden urge to brandish his wand and cast the blasting curse and explode the piano into tiny pieces. Clenching his teeth and his fist, Draco took a deep breath through his nose and turned his back on the piano. It seemed he was angry all the time these days.

"You can play it any time you like, I'm sure Harry won't mind and its nice to have some background noise. This house needs it sometimes, the tension can make everyone twitchy."

His eyes fell on a tapestry which took up the entirety of the far wall. Draco went to examine it, surprised to discover it was an intricately woven representation of the Black Family Tree. Across the top was a Latin inscription, Draco studied it for a few minutes before coming to the conclusion it said something about the Noble House of Black. He noticed there were several burn marks on the tapestry, including where Potter's god father, Sirius Black should have been. Draco frowned. "Sirius Black isn't on here. What happened?"

"He was burnt off," Luna said. "The scorch marks are the disowned members of the family."

Draco's eyes trailed along the line noting his aunt Bellatrix image remained but his aunt Andromeda's image did not. He was aware of his aunt Andromeda, he knew she had been disowned for marrying a muggle born wizard, Draco felt shaming the Black family and tainting the bloodline was a pretty good reason for disowning her. The shame of having a sister married to mudblood had always bothered his mother, and it hadn't sat well with him knowing he had family in the world who were not pure of blood. The fact that they didn't associate with each other was immaterial, they were still a blot on the family tree. If the subject ever came up, his father would try to appease Narcissa by saying there was a black sheep in every family. Even the very best families had a member or two they wished to forget. His eyes fell then on the likeness of his mother, Draco touched his fingertips to the image, stroking it softly. The date of her death showed as well as her birth date and Draco could only assume there was some sort of charm on the tapestry to keep it updated. His father was there of course, and below them, the golden thread ended with his own image.

A sudden thought occurred to him and even as anger rushed back through him, Draco laughed, a harsh bitter sound.

"Is something wrong, Draco?"

He twisted so he could see her and waved an arm at the tapestry. "The Black brothers, Regulus and Sirius are gone. Andromeda has been disowned so she doesn't count for anything anymore. I think my aunt Bellatrix is too old to have child, which effectively leaves me. I'm the last in the Black line, I'm the last in the Malfoy line too. No wonder my father wants to keep me nice and safe. I've got to keep the bloodlines going."

"Draco, I don't think..."

"We're in the middle of a war; I'd better do something about it soon just in case I don't survive. Got to have an heir, don't we?" Draco said mockingly. "You're a pureblood, how about it, Luna? Fancy going to bed for a tumble, beget the son and heir of the Malfoy line?"

Luna let out a sigh. "I don't think you're being very fair to your father, Draco."

"Family is very important to my father."

"Yes, I know," she said softly. "It's why he's walked away from a deadly situation and came to ask the people he dislikes and who he knows dislike him, for help; to keep his family safe. To keep you safe. It's what you do when you love someone." She poured out two goblets of orange juice. "Come and have a drink and a chocolate biscuit, Draco."

He stared at her for a long moment, feeling a little sulky she had, as usual, put him in his place. Still, he did like chocolate biscuit so he went to sit in the chair opposite her, plucking a biscuit from the plate.

"May I make a suggestion, Draco?" she said thoughtfully. "Should you really want someone to help you carry on the Malfoy line, perhaps you might want to phrase your proposal a little more attractively in the future."

"I'll remember that," he said with a roll of his eyes.

She bit into a biscuit, making a little sound of complaint when it fell apart in her fingers, crumbling into her lap. She put the broken half on the table, gathering the crumbs from her knees into her palm and dropping them back on the plate. With a little furrow of her brow she dipped her fingers inside her shirt to brush the remaining crumbs from her skin, pulling the open neck of the shirt to one side and inadvertently exposing the smooth creamy swell of her left breast.

Goblet half way to his mouth, Draco watched her, touching his tongue lightly to his bottom lip.

 


	10. Chapter 10

Throughout the day Luna and Draco played cards and chess and talked; anything to keep time moving. He enjoyed chess, he was good at it and the pieces trusted him; although Draco couldn't help wondering if they could somehow sense he was part of the Black bloodline and therefore felt his blood status warranted complete trust and respect. Luna's pieces on the other hand kept offering her advice, none of which she took, preferring to play the game to the best of her own ability, even if it meant loosing.

Through each game, Luna talked. Draco couldn't work out if she was naturally chatty, if she talked because she had him all to herself and therefore had someone to talk to, or if she was trying to keep his mind off what might be happening at Hogsmead. Not that it really mattered why she talked, he didn't mind listening to her, she had a soothing quality to her voice which was pleasing to the ear. Luna had knowledge of a wide range of topics and she jumped from one to another at an alarming rate. Her thought process was rather fascinating; but it didn't stop his mind wandering to the "what if's" and the "what's happening's". The walls felt as though they were closing in on him, doubt and fear creeping up his back, nipping at the edges of his sanity until he wanted to scream.

His Bishop slid into position to check mate her King and Luna sighed, watching the King crumble.

"You win again."

Draco chuckled. "You should have listened to the Knight when he told you not to make that move."

"Taking advice from the pieces feels a little like cheating." She reached for her goblet only to find it empty.

"It's not cheating, it's using an advantage. You'll never get anywhere in life if you don't take advantage of advantages when they come along."

"I have a feeling," Luna said peering into the pitcher to discover it was also empty, "that's a very Lucius Malfoy sort of thing to say."

Draco shrugged. "Doesn't matter who said it. It's true." He stood up and took the pitcher from her. "I'll get some more orange juice."

"Thank you, Draco."

He nodded, walking swiftly from the room; even with Luna there he felt the weight of the unknown pressing down on him, closing over him, suffocating him. He had been through both, and yet Draco couldn't decide what was worse, knowing his mother was never coming back or not knowing if his father would ever come back.

On his way down to the kitchen he wondered where Potter's house elf was, but chose not to call for him. Fetching the orange juice gave him a breather. Yawning, Draco entered the kitchen and pulled open the fridge, he was still so tired. Everything about him was tired, exhausted, almost defeated. If it wasn't for Luna he figured he would probably have broken completely by now. Luna wouldn't let him break; she wouldn't allow him to suffer alone, no matter how much he might deserve it.

He refilled the pitcher and as he placed the remaining orange juice back in the fridge his eyes fell on the stone steps tucked away in the corner of the room. Luna had said she and Lupin had set up a potions lab in the basement, potions had always been his best subject. Snape had once said not many people understood the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the [human](https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Human) veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses; but Draco had. Maybe it was his Slytherin side, maybe it was his Malfoy side, or maybe it was just who he was, but Draco had instantly understood the power of a perfectly made potion and Draco Malfoy enjoyed power in all shapes. Potions were a subtle and delicious form of magic and had come quite easily to him.

Curiosity overcame him and Draco went down into the basement, he just had to have a peek at the potions lab, no matter how sparse it might be. The lab consisted of a caldron on a long wooden table, two chairs, a scattering of potion books, weighing scales, a mortar and pestle and surprisingly, rows upon rows of ingredients. He was drawn to the shelves with their coloured jars and leather pouches; he let his fingers trail over the dusty glass reading the faint inscriptions on some of the labels. He missed brewing potions, studying the formulas and ingredients and making something come alive in his caldron, something which would do his bidding with a mere drop on the tongue.

He began to sort through the ingredients, checking off the list in his head, a smile of satisfaction curling his lips when he concluded everything he needed was right there on the shelves. He didn't need a book, he didn't need instructions of any kind, he knew how to brew a sleeping draught, he'd had to do it enough over the last year when he had run out of the supply his mother sent through. Tonight, Draco decided, once he was sure Luna was asleep, he would slip down to the basement and brew himself a sleeping draught. He needed something, he couldn't keep waiting for daylight and the safety of Luna's presence to snatch a few hours sleep. He looked like death warmed up and he felt even worse. He needed sleep. A proper dreamless sleep.

Happy with his plan, Draco returned to the kitchen and headed back upstairs.

Luna was at the window when he entered the drawing room; she glanced over her shoulder and smiled. Draco took a moment to wonder if she smiled to see everyone or whether it was reserved for him, but quickly shoved the thought away, it did not belong in his head.

"I might go down to the library later; I'm in need of a new book. I do like to read a chapter or two in bed. Do you read much, Draco?"

"I like reading crime novels, although I haven't had much opportunity to read lately."

She laughed, eyes dancing. "I wouldn't have put you down as someone who plays at armchair detective. I guess it's true what they say, you should never judge a book by its cover."

He took a seat on the sofa and eyed her thoughtfully. "I'd guess you read books about animals and travelling."

"Yes, I do like those books, but I read everything," Luna said. "Somebody who lived here was really into historical romances so I thought I'd give it a try." She gazed wistfully into space for a moment. "I quite liked it."

He swallowed. "Did you?"

"Hum. It's bygone age, isn't it? I don't suppose men refer to women as paramour's any more, or compose poems and songs about them or write them love letters. Have you ever sent a love letter?"

"No I have not," he said firmly.

She laughed again. "No, I don't suppose you would have. Love seemed different back then, purer somehow and more passionate. Not that I've had anyone behave passionately towards me," she said matter of factly, "but I've seen couples at school and out and about, and it seems different to how I would image it. Maybe I've just read too many romances. I don't suppose love is like that in real life. Although, I've never been in love so I couldn't say for certain," she added fairly.

A brief feeling, almost like satisfaction, unfurled inside him, but Draco dismissed the fleeting sensation.

Somehow, and Draco had no idea how she did it, Luna got onto the subject of gnomes. It was a vastly different subject, but Luna had led him there quite easily, as if jumping from love to gnomes was the most natural thing in the world. A smile touched his lips as he sank back into the sofa.

The next thing Draco knew there was a hand on his shoulder shaking him awake. He jerked into a sitting position, having at some point slumped across the sofa, eyes wide, beads of perspiration against his hair line and Harry bloody Potter standing over him.

"What the hell were you dreaming about? You were shouting loud enough to wake the dead."

Taking deep breaths, Draco's eyes swept the room, although he already knew Luna wasn't there. The darkness wouldn't have caught hold of him if she were there. "Where's Luna?" he demanded.

"In the kitchen. She's making something for dinner."

"Dinner?" Draco echoed. "What time is it? When did you get here? Why are you here?"

"It's about six o'clock. I've been here a while." His jaw clenched.

Upon closer inspection Draco could see Potter was seething.

"I've done my bit. I've been seen. You're father sent me back."

Draco couldn't help feeling quite satisfied at Potter's anger. Now Potter would know what it was like to be ordered about by someone who was always used to getting his own way. Potter might be able to wheedle around the other adults in his life, but Lucius Malfoy was not a man to be wheedled.

Luna's head suddenly appeared around the door. "Dinner's ready. Oh, Draco, you're awake. Did you have a nice nap?"

He wouldn't have called it a nap, he'd slept for hours, however Draco merely nodded and followed her and Potter from the room. He was confused when they entered the kitchen and his puzzlement only increased to see three places set at the kitchen table.

"The dining room is over there." Draco jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Dining room?"

"You know, Potter, the room in which people dine," Draco said dryly.

Luna hadn't really needed Draco to say anything, one look at his face told her it would never have occurred to Draco to eat in the kitchen, he led a very different life to the rest of them. It was a wonder Lucius hadn't said something, although Luna figured Lucius was probably too distracted to really notice, and if he did notice, he wouldn't want to make ripples with the people he was trying to ingratiate himself with. Draco on the other hand was the type of person who would make ripples and gigantic waves if it annoyed Harry, who, at this moment, was staring incredulously at Draco.

"It might be fun, Harry," Luna said brightly, picking up a plate in each hand. "We haven't eaten in there before."

"We've got more important things to think about," Harry muttered, but he waved his wand over the remaining plate and goblets and trailed after them into the dining room. He was surprised to see Malfoy holding out the chair at the head of the table for Luna, he'd never seen Malfoy do anything remotely nice before now.

Luna slid into the offered seat and Draco sat to her right. Harry plopped down on her left, completely unable to stop himself glowering across the table at Malfoy who returned his glower just as darkly.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Draco made a conscious effort to eat, he could see Luna watching him out of the corner of his eye and he didn't want to upset her by not eating after she had taken the trouble to cook for them.  

"This is a very nice dinner, Luna," Harry said.

"It's only gammon, egg and chips. I can't make anything complicated," Luna replied, although she looked pleased at the comment.

Irritation prickled beneath Draco's skin that Potter had got in first with the praise.

"I can't even make this," Harry said with a laugh. "You'll be giving Mrs Weasley a run for her money soon."

"I'm nowhere near as good as Mrs Weasley, but maybe one day." Luna's eyebrows lifted slightly as she watched Harry stab rather violently at a chip in spite of the smile on his face. "You're angry with Mr Malfoy, aren't you, Harry?"

"I want to help and fighting is the only way I can do that."

"Not the only way," Luna said gently. "Whatever Dumbledore asked of you, Harry you can do. Dumbledore knew you better than you know yourself."

Draco knew Luna well enough to know she didn't speak of Dumbledore with hidden meanings, she wasn't trying to make him uncomfortable or guilty, she was genuinely trying to help Potter; but Draco wished she had waited until he was out of the room to start the Dumbledore talk.

"Then he should have left me more to go on," Harry said bitterly. "I have no idea what to do next, Luna and until I do I'm no help to anyone. I know people have died, I know people have gone missing, but I didn't really think of what war meant until Hogsmead. A battle, Luna, a real battle is different and everyone is there fighting and Mr Malfoy forced me to come home and Remus and the others all backed him up."

"Why didn't Ron and Hermione come back too?"

"Ron wouldn't leave his family. Mr and Mrs Weasley weren't going to just sit around and wait for the Death Eaters to show up, especially when their boys were fighting, they were going to be there too. As for Hermione, I don't think she wanted to leave Ron. They might be back soon, Charlie said he planned on sending people back from the front line in pairs to rest. I expect they'll come back here and let us know what's happening."

"Perhaps," Luna began thoughtfully, "we could make sandwiches and healing potions to send to Hogsmead."

Harry grinned. "That's a great idea, Luna. If I'm brewing potions I'm still helping."

"At least until you face up to what you have to do," Luna said firmly.

Draco snorted. " _You're_ going to brew a healing potion? You'll end up poisoning someone instead of healing them."

"You'd know all about poisoning people, wouldn't you," Harry snapped.

Draco froze and Luna went white, her lips pressing tightly together, a distinct look of disapproval crossing her face. Draco had made mistakes and she knew those mistakes haunted him even if he never spoke the words out loud; he needed help not condemnation. Although, Luna felt Harry wasn't particularly trying to be mean, in spite of the victim being his best friend. Harry's natural inclination when with Draco was to fall into the familiar patter of antagonism. She hadn't missed their glowering when they first sat down at the table.

Besides, Luna had noticed how Harry hadn't really commented on his task for Dumbledore. She refused to allow Harry to distract himself with unimportant things believing he wasn't up to the task Dumbledore had set for him. Harry was the type of person to want to help those in trouble, Luna knew he would face his destiny for others if not for himself.

"We shouldn't argue amongst ourselves, Harry."

"You're right, I'm sorry if I upset you, Luna."

Draco's teeth clenched, of course Potter hadn't apologised to him, Draco had not expected it and he didn't want Potter's apology or his friendship, but he didn't much like him upsetting Luna.

Luna turned to Draco, a flash of excitement in her eyes. "If you don't trust Harry's potion skills, would you brew the healing potions, Draco? I remember Hermione saying once that you were good at potions."

"If you like, Luna."

He would do it, Draco decided, not because it was the right thing to do, not because it was one in the eye for Potter who clearly hadn't expected him to agree and not because it would assist his father in his quest to become a trusted member of The Order; he would do it because Luna had asked him.


	11. Chapter 11

The basement was a dark windowless room, it reminded Draco of the potions lab at Hogwarts; it brought a measure of calm to him and made him feel curiously safe. He was in his comfort zone in a potions lab, his movements competent and sure. He had already made a batch of every day healing potions with Luna and Potter's help. Luna had followed his instructions to the letter, Potter had been less compliant, nothing Draco hadn't expected, especially when he made little tweaks to the potions, but Potter had grudgingly muttered about a natural ability which he himself did not possess and had effectively bowed to the master. Luckily, Potter seemed distracted by something else and only came sporadically to the basement, Luna said she suspected he was facing up to the secret Dumbledore task, Draco didn't give a damn one way or the other, Potter's absence left him alone with Luna; it was nice.

Charlie Weasley had been true to his word, he had sent people away from the fighting to rest two at a time, but only members of the Order came to Grimmauld Place. Lupin and Tonks had shown up the day before, Lupin had some rather nasty burns on his arm, Luna had offered him a healing potion and Draco had thought perhaps Lupin wouldn't take it knowing who had brewed it; but Lupin had gulped it down and complemented him on a well brewed potion. Draco had discovered he still looked at Lupin as a professor having experienced the same smug satisfaction he always did at school when receiving praise from a teacher.

His father had not been back to the house, but Mr and Mrs Weasley had returned and given him the same news Tonks and Lupin had delivered; Lucius Malfoy was alive and uninjured.

Potter lived for the moment when their visitors announced it was time for him to return to Hogsmead and do his bit of being seen; draw the Death Eaters to the village and boost morale amongst the Order and their allies. Potter was always full of news when he returned to Grimmauld Place, telling him and Luna things the adults made a point of not telling them.

Today had heralded the return of Granger and Weasley and Draco had removed himself to the basement out of the way. Luna was sitting beside him, mashing some herbs with the mortar and pestle for the bruise healing paste he intended to make. Potter had disappeared upstairs some time ago, Draco assumed he was spending time with his friends. So long as Potter wasn't in his face Draco didn't care where he was.

He peered into the caldron, considering the simmering liquid, it would need time to come together properly, mixing skele-grow was a complicated business and he hadn't attempted it before. Still, Draco was fairly confident he could pull it off. He was feeling better, not exactly like his old self, but the sleeping draught he had concocted in secret really did help take the edge off. He slept through the night and woke feeling the full benefits of it. He was still paler than he usually was, there were still bruises beneath his eyes, but he didn't look haggard any longer and he had much more energy than he'd been used to since coming to Potter's house. He felt being in even a make shift potions lab was helping him feel like his old self, it was relaxing in the basement surrounded by the tools of potion making and a bubbling caldron.

Luna shifted beside him, bringing her legs beneath her, kneeling on the chair to lean over the caldron and examine the potion. She watched him weight out some powder and sprinkle it slowly and sparingly into the caldron. The potion changed colour and Luna turned to consult the book he was working from. Draco knew what she would find, the potion had done exactly what it was supposed to do.

"You have magic fingers, Draco," Luna said appreciatively.

It was innocently said, there was no hidden meaning, Luna meant it as praise and Draco knew it, but he couldn't help flushing as his mind conjured up the sexual connotation behind her words.

"It is hot standing over a caldron, isn't it?" Luna pushed her hair out of her face.

Draco thanked Merlin she had attributed the heat in his cheeks to the caldron. It wouldn't do for her to suspect any inappropriate thoughts about her had crossed his mind, no matter how fleeting. Besides, it hardly meant anything, Luna was his only company, (Potter so didn't count), and they were shut up in this bloody house, he was just getting a bit of cabin fever or something like that.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Potter appeared a distracted look on his face. He took a seat opposite them at the table, chin resting in his hand.

"Where's Ron and Hermione?" Luna asked.

"Ron's asleep. Hermione said she was going to take a bath and hope it helped her to relax and sleep for a bit. She's exhausted but she just can't seem to sleep. Ron will sleep through anything," Harry added with a grin.

"Seems a bit pointless, coming back here to rest if she can't sleep," Draco commented. "Mr Weasley had the same problem."

"It's not surprising," Luna said. "Fighting the way they have been, they've been running on adrenaline, unable to lower their guard for a moment. It's hard to switch off."

Harry sighed, picking up a quill and beginning to doodle on a piece of parchment. "That's true, but Malfoy does sort of have a point."

"Solution's simple," Draco said, giving the skele-grow a stir. "Sleeping draught."

"Possibly," Harry allowed. "But that won't stop her dreaming, will it?"

"Not on its own, but if I combine it with a dreamless sleep potion and make the sleeping draught strong enough it'll put her under for the night." Out of the corner of his eye Draco saw Luna's eyes narrow in his direction, something akin to suspicion on her face.

"I don't know whether I'll be able to convince Hermione to take it, she can be weird about stuff like that," Harry said. "I took the dreamless sleep potion after Cedric died. It made me feel all drowsy and warm, it was impossible to stay awake." His stomach suddenly rumbled and Harry grinned again. "Guess it must be about dinner time."

"Must be," Luna agreed, getting to her feet. "Come on, Harry, you can help me make dinner."

Harry nodded, accompanying her to the stairs. "Nothing too complicated for me, Luna. I'll butter the bread or something, you know, something I can't mess up."

Luna laughed. "You aren't that bad, Harry. When we're cooking I can tell you about daddy's theory of the Ministry secretly trying to raise an army of inferi."

"I hope it's only a theory, I've seen inferius," he shuddered. "Not pretty."

"Have you really seen them? Tell me, Harry, what are they really like?"

They disappeared into the kitchen and Draco glared furiously after them. "I'm Harry Potter, let me tell you all about my heroics with inferi," he mimicked.

The door remained open, and although Draco could hear their voices he couldn't quite make out what they were saying. He heard cupboard doors open and closing, the rattling of what he could only assume were cooking utensils and Luna laughed; he shot another furious look at the stairs.

They bustled about above his head, and Potter laughed, and Luna laughed again and Draco's temper rose to boiling point. He was so distracted he almost ruined the skele-grow.

Presently the smell of food wafted down to him and Granger's voice could be heard as another set of footsteps made themselves known. Putting the skele-grow to one side to settle, Draco headed upstairs. Weasley came through the other door just as Draco entered the kitchen and threw him a dirty look. Draco's top lip lifted in his customary sneer and he saw Granger roll her eyes and shake her head.

He took a seat at the end of the kitchen table half wishing he had just stayed down in the basement. Draco simply had no idea what to say to them when they were all together and he had the distinct feeling of being an outsider, an intruder into their lives. They didn't like him, hell, he didn't like them either, but Granger would insist on being civil to him and it grated on Draco's nerves.

"How are you, Draco?" Granger asked quietly.

"Fine," he replied shortly. She never seemed to expect more from him and simply accepted his monosyllabic responses with a good grace he knew he had no right to expect from her.

"Are you feeling better after your bath, Hermione?" Luna asked.

"A little bit," Hermione said with a sigh, pushing damp tendrils from her temple.

"What are we having?" Ron asked, sniffing the air. "Sausage?"

"With beans and chips, and bread buttered by yours truly," Harry added

Ron laughed. "I always knew you had hidden depths, mate."

Luna bent to check the sausages sizzling under the grill and Draco's eyes traced the curve of her behind and down her legs. Flushing, and shifting uncomfortably, he cast around for something to do or say to keep his mind under control.

"What's rab?" he blurted out.

Silence followed the question, and Draco noticed they were all looking towards Luna. Potter expectantly with a look of interest on his face, Weasley with a slight grin and Granger with a look of resigned patience. It was an odd question, of course they would automatically assume he was querying one of Luna's odd theories.

"I'm talking to _you_ , Potter."

"Me?" Harry asked baffled. "How do I know what rab is?"

"You've been writing it all over my parchment for the last twenty four hours."

"Oh." A look of understanding crossed Harry's face. "Not rab. R A B."

"That spells rab," Draco insisted.

"Yes," Harry agreed. "But I was writing the letters not the word. R A B."

"You mean like Draco's bedroom door?" Luna glanced over her shoulder at Harry.

"What do you mean, my bedroom door?" Draco demanded.

"Well, not your bedroom door, the door to the bedroom you're using now. Regulus Black's bedroom," Luna explained. "His initials are on the door. Not that I would expect you to have noticed that, you haven't spent much time outside the room, have you?" she added, bestowing a kind smile on Draco.

Draco shook his head slowly, eyes drifting back to Potter who looked dumbfounded. He glanced at Weasley who's mouth was disgustingly agape and then at Granger who had perked up considerably.

"Are you sure, Luna?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, Regulus Arcturus Black. You can check against the family tree upstairs if you like."

Harry shook his head slowly. "No, no. I believe you, Luna. Sirius told me his brother tried to back out of the Death Eaters and was murdered because of it. Suppose," Harry looked from Ron to Hermione. "Suppose, he didn't just try to back out, suppose he defected and tried to stop Voldemort? I mean, it fits, doesn't it?"

Draco shuddered, his left arm curling against his stomach, his right hand clamping firmly over his forearm and squeezing tightly, acutely aware of the Dark Mark sitting beneath his sleeve, forever burnt into his skin.

Hermione nodded. "I think it's highly probable."

Draco glanced at Luna, it was quite clear from the mystified but curious expression on her face that she was just as much in the dark about Regulus Black and RAB as he was. In a rush of selfishness Draco hoped Potter wouldn't feel the need to offer an explanation. He didn't want to know anything which could potentially put him in danger.

"Would you mind if we searched your room, Draco?" Hermione asked.

She was being polite and Draco knew she had no need to be; he could hardly refuse or stop them if they wanted to search Regulus Black's room. The knowledge irked him and he grit his teeth for a moment. "Just don't break anything."

"We'll be very careful," Hermione promised.

"You might be," Draco said, before shooting a pointed look in Weasley's direction.

"We all will," Harry said. "Do we have time before dinner, Luna?"

"You could make a start." She waved her arm towards the cupboard. "Would you mind setting the table on your way?"

"Of course." Harry and Ron gathered together plates, cutlery and goblets. "Not there," Harry said when Ron put the goblets down on the kitchen table.

"What do you mean?" Ron frowned at him. "Where else are we going to eat?"

"In the dining room. You know, the place where people dine," Harry said, winking at Luna who laughed.

Draco scowled, he knew Potter wasn't being mean, but he had ever been good at being the butt of a joke. Theo Nott had often said so, much to Draco's annoyance. Potter, Weasley and Granger left the kitchen and Draco had to force himself to remain seated, to not follow and watch them like hawks as they went through the room he used as his own. He didn't know if it was an only child thing or whether it was just him, but he really didn't like people touching his things. He was possessive over the things he liked.

Luna suddenly plopped down opposite him, placing her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand she considered him with pursed lips as the sausages sizzled behind her. Draco fought the urge to wiggle under her intent stare, she didn't even blink.

"So," Luna said softly. "That's why you're sleeping at night and why you're looking better. You're taking a sleeping draught mixed with a dreamless sleep potion. Draco, those potions are dangerous, if you take too much..." she paused and took a breath. "Some people have taken too much and they don't wake up."

"I haven't taken too much. I know what I'm doing," Draco said quietly. "I've been taking the potion since last Christmas."

"Last Christmas!" Luna exclaimed, back straightening.

"I had to," Draco snapped. "I needed to sleep. I couldn't think straight. You don't know, Luna, you can't know what it's like to live with that kind of pressure. I had to get the Death Eaters into school, I had to kill Dumbledore. I had to prove my loyalty. I had to prove I could do it. I couldn't cope, I was falling apart and there was nowhere to go for help. I didn't know what to do. I had to sleep." Draco's eyes squeezed shut, his finger sliding into his hair to grip his skull. "He'd have killed my mother," he ended hoarsely. "He'd have killed her. I couldn't let him kill her. "

He was finally opening up, finally giving voice to his fears and it was horrible to witness. Luna bit her lip, reaching out to curl her fingers around his wrist and rub gently at the protruding bone.

"It happened anyway," Draco rasped. "After everything I went through, she died anyway. My mother tried to protect me and it was the death of her."

"I understand, Draco," Luna said soothingly. "I was there when my mother died. She was quite an extraordinary witch, she liked to experiment and one of her experiments went badly wrong. The explosion killed her, I survived it. It took a long time to realise I shouldn't feel guilty for being the one who lived; it would have been the very last thing mummy would have wanted me to feel. You can't feel guilty for being alive, Draco. Your mother wouldn't want that."

She was right and Draco knew it, but it was difficult to accept it. It was comforting to know there was someone close by who could understand how he felt. Draco took a deep breath, watching with a sort of fascinated detachment as her fingers interlaced with his. She sat quietly allowing him time to pull himself together, just holding his hand; it was nice.

"I don't think you should take the potion any more, Draco. If you've been taking it this long you might end up addicted to it and that won't be good."

"I can't sleep without it and you know it."

"That's not entirely accurate, you have slept without it. I've seen you."

Draco rolled his shoulders. "During the day, when you were there. I can't sleep at night without it."

"Lots of people are afraid of the dark..."

"I'm not afraid of the dark," Draco snapped. "I've never been afraid of the dark."

Luna was unfazed by his attitude. "Well you are now. You're afraid of the dark because the dark means its time to sleep and your afraid to sleep because you'll end up having a nightmare. It won't last, Draco but you can't keep using a sleeping draught, it's dangerous. Besides, once you come to terms with what happened to your mother and once you get used to feeling safe again you'll stop being afraid to sleep." She squeezed his fingers a sudden smile curling her lips. "I could stay with you, just until you start feeling better. That'll solve the problem."

She looked so pleased at having figured it all out; Draco swallowed reflexively, he had a nasty suspicion that was going to cause more problems than it solved.

 

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Draco sat quietly with Luna's fingers curled around his until the sausages started to spit and Luna got up to check on them. She busied herself placing the food on to the serving plates and then took her wand from behind her ear; drawing a circle in the air she said a quiet, " _Expecto Patronum_."

Draco watched fascinated as a thin wisp of silver mist emerged from the tip of her wand to take the form of a bright silver hare. The hare hopped around for a moment before disappearing out the door leaving a trail of silver behind it. He had never seen anyone cast a patronus before. When he had heard Potter was able to cast one Draco had spent a good deal of time practicing the spell, but he had never managed to make even a sliver of mist appear.

"A hare?" Draco queried.

Luna nodded. "I suppose it makes sense, both hare's and rabbits are associated with the moon which happens to be my namesake. I know not everyone can produce a patronus, so I was rather surprised I was able to do it. Of course, Harry has to take some of the credit, he's a very good teacher."

His jaw clenched. He hadn't joined the dots together, Potter being her friend and her teacher. She had been helping him make the healing potions, she had enjoyed it and Draco had thought he was, in turn, helping her, teaching her a little. Draco had figured if anyone could appreciate the art of brewing potions it would be Luna; but potions rather faded into insignificance when compared to Potter teaching her such a difficult and complex spell.

Serving dishes floating in front of her, Luna left the kitchen and Draco could hear Potter, Granger and Weasley descending the stairs. He followed Luna into the dining room, hand automatically going to the back of the chair at the head of the table, holding it out for her to sit. She smiled at him and sat, he took up his usual position on her right just as the other three filed into the room. By the sour look on Weasley's face Draco made the assumption they hadn't yet found what they were looking for.

Potter automatically slid into the chair at Luna's left and Weasley slumped next to him. With a little sigh, her mouth pulled into disappointed lines, Granger sat down beside Draco. There was silence except for the clatter of cutlery on plates and the pouring of pumpkin juice as they all helped themselves to food.

"You've only just started to look, don't be too disheartened, Harry," Luna said.

Harry cut into a sausage "It was never going to be as easy as walking into the room and casting a summoning spell."

Ron sighed heavily. "I wish just for once it was that easy."

"Like Luna said, we've only just started looking," Hermione said. "We'll go back up after we've eaten and try again."

Ron shot a look at Draco. "Wouldn't surprise me if _he's_ got it."

Draco glared at him. "Well, I can't answer that because I don't know what you're looking for."

"Draco has a point," Luna said loyally.

"Yes he does," Hermione agreed. "Do you have anything from Regulus' room, Draco?"

"No."

Ron snorted. "No reason not to believe you. You being so trustworthy and everything."

"Believe what you like, Weasley. I haven't taken anything from the room."

"We'll see," Ron replied ominously.

"Draco's had a lot on his mind just recently," Luna said, her voice a shade sharper than usual. "Rifling through Regulus Black's room would be the last thing he'd think of." She turned suddenly towards Hermione, changing the topic completely. "Did Harry tell you we've been helping Draco brew healing potions?"

"Yes he did. That was a good idea, Luna. We can always use healing potions."

"Draco's making skele-grow at the moment," Luna added.

Hermione's eyebrow lifted a fraction. "That's a very complicated potion. How's it coming?"

"It's coming along," Draco said stiffly. "It should be ready in another twenty four hours."

Ron snorted again. "I can't believe we're trusting him to make healing potions for the Order."

"Ron," Harry began patiently. "Mr Malfoy is helping us and so is Malfoy. He's good at potions and we need a steady supply of them."

"Last time he made a potion I almost died," Ron pointed out.

Draco went utterly still a guilty flush creeping up his neck to stain his cheeks. He was aware of Granger's quick breaths on his one side and how Luna paused, fork halfway to her mouth on his other side. Potter's expression was an odd mix of exasperation and irritation.

"But you didn't," Luna said. "Silver linings and all that, Ron."

Potter grinned and bowed his head over his plate. "Uh huh. Silver linings."

"Silver linings!" Weasley exclaimed.

"Yes, Ron," Granger said firmly. "Silver linings."

Weasley wisely decided against further comment in the face of Granger's sudden frosty attitude towards him and relapsed into silence, his anger seemed to slowly abate and turn into genuine amusement as Luna began to talk about gulping plimpies.

What he would do without Luna in his corner, and she was undoubtedly in his corner, Draco really couldn't say. She was a buffer not just against his nightmares, but against the animosity from Potter and Weasley. Potter was better at hiding his distaste for him and swallowing his pride for the good of wizard kind than Weasley was, but Draco knew it was still there beneath the surface. The contempt Draco felt for Weasley and Potter was mirrored in them and bubbled perilously close to the surface just waiting to blow up. He was outnumbered and had thrown himself upon Potter's mercy and therefore he had to bite his tongue. Draco found it easiest to just stay out of the way, although Potter wasn't so bad to deal with when they had a common goal to work towards the way they had been brewing potions together recently. With something else to focus on and with Luna there between them Draco had found it easier to deal with Potter. They basically ignored each other and let Luna do the talking.

As dinner continued, Draco could almost taste Granger's frustration and impatience as Luna continued with her wild flights of fancy and Potter encouraged her crazy theories. Granger he knew was a logical person and Luna, although a Ravenclaw, didn't seem to mind throwing logic overboard at any given time and delve into the improbable, impossible and the downright insane. Potter and Weasley enjoyed her theories but Draco could tell they set Granger on edge, although she was nice enough to keep silent, however much it pained her.

Draco couldn't quite make up his mind about Luna. On the one hand his own logical mind made him want to sneer at the ridiculousness of her. On the other hand, he had never seen anyone quite so animated about their beliefs. She would never make him believe in any of the nonsense from The Quibbler, but she was captivating when she spoke about it.

"That was great, Luna," Harry said after the last bite.

"Yes it was, thank you, Luna," Hermione said.

Ron swallowed his last mouthful of bread. "I couldn't eat another thing."

Harry pulled a face. "I guess this means we should get back to our search."

"Not until you've washed up," Hermione said, getting to her feet.

Ron let out a groan. "I hate washing up. Fred and George always make me wash up."

"Luna was nice enough to cook, you can wash up," Hermione said. "Luna isn't here to wait on you hand and foot."

“Malfoy didn't seem to get the memo,” Ron muttered. 

Hermione's hands came to rest on her hips. “It is not your concern what Luna chooses to do for Draco.” 

“He’ll take advantage, you just watch,” Ron warned, glaring across the table at Draco. 

“I can hear you, Weasley,” Draco snapped, returning the heated glare with one of his own. 

“That’s because you’re right under my nose,” Ron complained.

“You think I enjoy seeing your ugly mug everywhere I look?” Draco retorted.

"Oh for goodness sake," Hermione exclaimed. "Ron, would you just..."

"Why are you having a go at me?" Ron demanded. "Why are you always taking his side? He's such a pompous ferret, Hermione and I'm only looking out for Luna."

"I know he's been positively foul to us all since the moment we met him," Hermione said. "But things are different now. We aren't at school any more. We're in the middle of a war. It's time to grow up and put petty differences aside."

"I guess you've got a point, Hermione," Ron said.

"Now then, Ron. Harry. Dishes." Hermione waved her hand at the table.

"Come on, Ron. It won't take long," Harry said.

"What's _he_ going to do when we're washing up?" Ron demanded frowning at Draco.

"If you're going back into Regulus' room I'm going to move my things out of the way," Draco said.

"I'll help you, Draco." Luna rose from the table and humming quietly she drifted from the room with Draco behind her, his face set in angry lines. He hadn't even put a foot on the first step before he heard Granger snapping at Weasley about being immature and unhelpful.

"And don't forget," Granger went on. "Malfoy's going through a difficult time, something neither you nor I can understand, and frankly, I don’t ever want to understand it. You have your family and friends around you, the least you could do is show a bit of understanding towards someone who has recently lost his mother.”  


In spite of everything he'd ever said and done, Granger was willing to shield him in his time of utter heartache and despair just as Luna did. He didn't deserve compassion from either of them, although Granger's was harder to stomach. He'd never really liked Granger; she had rubbed him up the wrong way right from the start. It didn't help matters that a muggle born got better grades than he did and people seemed to like her more than they liked him. Draco knew he didn't do himself any favours in the friends department, but still, it had driven him wild that the famous Harry Potter had chosen to befriend a mudblood and snub him.

Almost as if she read his mind Luna spoke up. "You know, if you gave yourself half a chance and gave them half a chance, you could end up being friends."

"You're labouring under the illusion I want to be friends with them," Draco snapped, sweeping by her and into the bedroom.

Luna let out a little sigh and followed him. She stood in the centre of the room looking around her. "They haven't made much of a mess."

"Only because they had Granger keeping an eye on them," Draco insisted. He could just imagine the glee on Weasley's face if he was left to his own devices in this room. Draco took his suitcase from the top of the wardrobe. "I'll just pack everything away until they've finished."

He had just emptied a drawer when Granger appeared. She stood in the doorway for a minute or two contemplating him before taking a breath, determination chasing away the expression of indecision. "Have you seen a locket, Draco?"

Draco blinked and glanced at Luna, who looked just as surprised by the question as he did. "A locket?"

"Yes, a locket. A necklace. It usually has photographs of loved ones inside it. A locket."

"I know what a locket is," Draco said irritably. "Why would I have one?"

"I asked if you'd seen one. Maybe when you were unpacking?"

He shook his head. "No. I haven't seen one. Is that what you're looking for?" he demanded.

Granger nodded.

"Well, if you're looking for ancient Black family heirlooms, I'd suggest you ask the house elf. He'd know where the Black jewellery is hidden," Draco said.

Granger gaped at him. "Kreacher. Of course! Why didn't I think of that? Thank you, Draco." She turned and hurried back down the corridor.

"Is that it?" Luna went to the door and called after her. "Are you finished in here?"

"Yes!" Granger called back, the sound of her footsteps disappeared as she went down the stairs.

Draco took a deep breath through his nose. "A locket! A bloody locket! I thought they were looking for some dark magical artefact. A weapon they could use against the Dark Lord. How the bloody hell does Potter expect to defeat the most evil wizard of all time with a bloody locket?"

"Harry will have his reasons. I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

"I'm not so sure," Draco muttered, returning his socks to the drawer. The way Potter was going Draco would have been shocked if he was able to find his way out of a paper bag, let alone find a way to defeat the Dark Lord.

A sudden bang made him jump and Draco whirled, wand raised. The tension left him a moment later as an amused smirk curled his lips. Luna was stood beside the arm chair which was now minus two legs and had tipped over. She was considering it with a ruffled forehead.

"That's not quite right," she said.

"No," Draco agreed. "Whatever you were trying to do, I suspect that wasn't what you were going for."

Luna shrugged and waved her wand over the chair again. The remaining two legs disappeared and the chair went crashing to the floor. She gave a little sigh, the wrinkles in her forehead deepening.

"It's your wand work," Draco said, moving into place behind her. "Let me show you." His hand curled around hers, fingers resting lightly over hers. Her hand was warm and softly compliant beneath his as Luna allowed herself to be guided as she quietly spoke the incantation. The now legless arm chair shifted and a bed took its place.

"That's better." Luna tipped her head back and to the side, she looked up at him with a pleased expression.

His eyes met hers and suddenly Draco couldn't move. He was aware only of her fingers beneath his and her eyes; he was swimming in big silvery pools of moonlight. His throat tightened and his nerves tightened and his stomach tightened; too long, he was staring at her for far too long. Draco saw the exact moment Luna realised he shouldn't be staring this long; her eyes flared and she blinked, taking a small step back, breaking the connection.

"I think I'll go and see how Harry is getting on. I'll see you later, Draco."

Draco swallowed thickly, eyes closing as he ran a hand through his hair. He was going mad, what other explanation could there be for the jittery feeling in the pit of his stomach and the hot flush which had crept over his entire body at just a meeting of eyes. It didn't mean anything, not really, he was just sleep deprived. There had been no need for her to practically bolt from the room the way she had. What had Luna thought he was going to do, wrestle her to the ground and have his way with her right there on the bedroom floor?

A wave of heat made its way over his skin at the thought and Draco clenched his teeth. It was ridiculous. She had been nice to him when he needed some comfort, he was still grieving and all mixed up, that was all there was to it. He looked at the newly transfigured bed, Luna had made it in order that she could stay with him tonight to keep him off sleeping draughts and help him to sleep, because she was good and decent and kind. She was nice to him, she didn't judge him, she simply accepted his presence and obvious need for help and tried to help as best she could; because she was good.

The people he knew, the friends he kept, they weren't decent or kind. Smart, pureblooded, rich (although not as rich as the Malfoy's of course), respected; he surrounded himself with those people, but not one of them would he describe as good. He'd never had a relationship with anyone else the way he did with Luna and he didn't want to lose it.

Without examining the thought too closely, Draco knew only that he wanted to keep Luna.

 

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

Draco spent the rest of the day in his room filling the time by watching the ginger cat across the road chase off a tabby cat which ventured into its territory and observing an elderly man with an elderly West Highland Terrier sitting on the bench in the little garden with the dog settled at his feet napping with its head between its paws. The man had a newspaper and a pencil, he would stare up at the sky and every now and again make a mark in the paper. It had taken Draco a while to come to the conclusion the man must be doing a puzzle. The Daily Prophet had puzzles near the back too. He could hardly credit what he had been reduced to by way of entertainment.

Darkness was creeping across the horizon and the man had long gone. Draco had stayed in the window watching the birds flit about before they too disappeared for the night and he had slumped in a chair to play a game of solitaire and amuse himself with little transfiguration spells. It had been a pretty rotten day all round. He had been stuck up in the bedroom all afternoon, dinner time had come and gone and Luna hadn't appeared with a plate for him, or even to call him down to eat. She knew he was up here all by himself and she hadn't come to sit with him and keep him company the way she usually did. His irritation at being left alone had turned into a sulk and he'd angrily returned the newly transfigured bed back into a chair. He was inclined to blame Potter for his forced solitary confinement, mostly because Draco felt everything wrong in his life could be traced back to Potter one way or another.

Still, there was a niggling thought at the back of his mind that Luna kept away because of him, because of that look; that long lingering look which meant absolutely nothing. He was still grieving and Luna was kind, it got him all mixed up for a moment that was all. Luna was pretty intuitive, Draco hoped she had already figured that out and was giving him some space to come to the same realisation. By tomorrow they would probably be back to normal. Whatever normal was when Luna Lovegood was involved.

Taking up a towel, Draco headed to the bathroom for a long shower, it would kill some more time. After the shower he dithered about in the bathroom, using a drying charm on the towel and his hair, performing several styling charms he had perfected over the years until he got bored and finger combed his hair back before leaving the bathroom, deciding he might as well take the sleeping draught now and have an early night. No point in staying up, there was nothing to stay up for, what with Luna, his only real source of companionship avoiding him.

When he returned to the bedroom Draco was startled to find Luna sitting on the edge of his bed, one leg tucked beneath her. He had seen her wearing unicorn pyjamas, pink garish bottoms with small unicorns covering them and a top with a large unicorn in its centre. She was not wearing those hideous pyjamas tonight. Tonight she wore a midnight blue set, what he was pretty sure Pansy called "a strappy top", (Pansy and Daphne were constantly going on about clothes, he had always thought a top was a top, as it turned out, he was wrong, and there seemed to be about a hundred different types of tops when it came to girls clothes), with tiny moons and stars all over it and a pair of shorts; her pale, slender legs went on for days. He could drive himself crazy, Draco thought feverishly, thinking about climbing the length of her legs.

Aware that he was staring at her for far too long for the second time that day, Draco's eyes snapped to her face; a sudden irritation washed over him, there he was standing there in his pyjama bottoms, (slung rather low on his hips, although Draco had to admit that hadn't been a conscious decision), with no top on, yet Luna was wearing an expression which would make anyone in her vicinity question whether she was on the same planet as everyone else, never mind the same room. He clearly had no effect on her whatsoever.

Not that he wanted to have any kind of effect on her, but still, for vanity's sake, it would have been nice if she'd shown _some_ interest.

"It occurred to me," Luna said, her eyes coming into sudden sharp focus, "I don't think you can be trusted."

Draco tensed, thoughts racing. Couldn't be trusted to behave himself? Couldn't be trusted not to bury his hands in her hair? Couldn't be trusted not to press his lips to her throat and bury his face in her neck?

It occurred to him these thoughts were rather specific, but Draco pushed it aside, deciding to adopt his old faithful snorting, sneering defence, when she spoken again.

"I thought you might take the sleeping draught if I left it too late to come up here."

Draco didn't respond immediately, she was right, that had been his plan. He noticed the way her brow furrowed, she looked distinctly unimpressed.

"Just as I thought." She let out a sigh. "Oh, Draco, what am I going to do with you?"

Draco fought the urge to fidget, there were so many answers to that question.

Luna waved a hand towards the chair. "You changed it back. I suppose it makes sense, it did take up a lot of room as a bed."

"Uh huh." He hung the towel on a hook behind the door. Better to let her think that than let her know he'd had a fit of childish temper and turned it back.

"Will you change it back? You're better at that spell than I am."

"I don't need babysitting."

"I rather think you do," she said airily, twirling her hair around her finger. "We've already established you can't be trusted." He glared and she laughed. "I'm only trying to help, Draco. Refusing to do the spell isn't going to change anything, I'll just sleep on the floor."

"You can't sleep on the floor," he said crossly. "You'll catch cold." Her eyebrows lifted slightly but she made no response. It was his turn to sigh before transfiguring the chair into a bed again. "Happy now?"

She smiled and hopped across the room to flop down on the new bed. "Yes. Thank you, Draco. Would you at least acknowledge that I'm trying to help you, even if you do insist on fighting me every step of the way?"

A ghost of a smile touched his lips, she sounded more amused than angry with his stubbornness and he supposed that was a good thing.

There was a sudden sharp rap on the door and it swung open to reveal Lucius. "Hello, Draco."

"You're back." It was rather stating the obvious, but it was the first thing to come to Draco's mind.

Silence fell, Luna glanced from one to the other. Feeling a little like an intruder in this special father son moment, she rose from the bed and skipped to the door. "How nice to see you, Mr Malfoy. Are you all right?"

"Yes, fine, thank you."

"How nice." She smile brilliantly. "Would you like me to make you something to eat?"

Lucius nodded. "I could eat something, yes."

"Is it over?" Luna asked.

"No, not quite yet. I'm not sure it can go on much longer, I think the Death Eaters are finding Charlie Weasley has more allies than first anticipated. There are more people fighting than I anticipated anyway."

"People like to be free to be who they want to be. Nobody wants to live under the rule of a tyrant," Luna pointed out. "I'll be in the kitchen, Mr Malfoy."

Lucius glanced around the room, a puzzled expression crossing his face at the extra bed. "How are you, Draco?"

"I'm fine," Draco said. "Its... it's good to see you, father. Are you back for long?"

"Just overnight. I don't want to leave Charlie longer than that. Hopefully we can persuade him to come back for a rest once I return. He needs to keep his head and his strength up."

"You aren't hurt?"

"No, I'm here just for a rest. We've been lucky, many have been hurt, but not killed."

"That's good," Draco said through grit teeth. He had to fight to keep his anger at bay, his mother had not been hurt, his mother had been killed. His mother had never done anyone any harm, she might have been rich, powerful, a pureblood, but she hadn't hurt anyone, she hadn't destroyed anyone's life or business the way his father had over the years. Narcissa Malfoy had simply lived her life enjoying the finer things and loving her family. She had loved her family so much she had been killed for it. Draco couldn't find it in himself to be pleased about being the only one to suffer.

"How have things been here? I see you and Potter have managed not to hex each other into next week."

Draco smiled briefly. "We're tolerating each other. Luna helps."

"I imagine she does. Mr Weasley tells me you've been brewing potions. I've seen your work, very impressive, Draco. I always knew you had a special talent for potions."

"Luna asked me to help, she and Lupin have a potions lab set up in the basement. It kept my mind off things," Draco admitted.

"That's good. I don't like to think of you cooped up here worrying and stewing. It's not an ideal situation, Draco, I'm aware of that, but this is how it has to be for now. I'm pleased you're helping Potter, it shows our commitment."

Draco snorted. "It'll take more than a few potions to convince Weasley."

"Yes, he is rather..." Lucius paused, lips curling into a smirk, "...hostile."

Draco couldn't stop his own smirk. "Something like that."

"Well, as Miss Lovegood has been kind enough to offer to provide a meal for me, I'd better go down and eat it. Are you coming too?"

"I'll just get dressed and join you."

Lucius headed to the kitchen where Luna was just finishing up an omelette. He sank down at the table and Luna put the plate in front of him, she was humming a light tune as she turned back to pour him a drink.

"I didn't think coffee was a good idea, what with you wanting to go to sleep, so I made hot chocolate. It's a nice soothing drink. I should have thought to make this for Draco," she mused, taking a seat opposite him.

Draco had dressed in record time, even though it sort of made him feel like a five year old again, he wanted to be with his father. He wanted the strong reassuring presence of Lucius Malfoy, the man who gave him everything and could do anything. Nothing ever phased Lucius, he was cool and capable in all situations and Draco still hoped some of his father's strength would rub off on him.

He arrived outside the kitchen just in time to hear Luna speak his name and Draco paused, wondering if she was going to tell his father all about the sleeping draughts. He took them because he was weak and couldn't cope with his life, Draco felt sure his father had never even thought of taking a sleeping draught. Luna had threatened to tell his father once before, it wasn't a big argument with his father Draco had worried about, if his father found out he'd think less of him, he'd think his son wasn't up to being a true Malfoy. That was Draco's biggest fear, being a disappointment to his father.

"Is everything all right with, Draco?" Lucius asked.

"Not really," Luna admitted. "But you don't need to worry, he's getting there slowly. Draco's stronger than he realises. He just needs a little help at the moment, but I don't think Draco's used to help or friendship."

"I don't follow you, Draco has many friends."

"No," Luna said slowly. "I'm not sure that he does. He has people he spends time with, but I'm not sure they're really friends; Draco doesn't seem to know what to do with friendship, but, I'm sure he'll learn. I'll help him. I know what it's like not to have any friends too."

"You're rather taken with my son, aren't you?" Lucius said quietly.

"In a way. At first I didn't like him at all, with good reason, he wasn't very nice to me at school..."

"But he needed you," Lucius interposed. "And you knew it. You gave him what he needed, didn't you? You were a friend to him."

"Yes," Luna agreed. "I was willing to be friendly and help him. Now I rather like him. He's sulky and stubborn, but I don't mind, I still like him."

Lucius laughed softly. "I don't worry about Draco so much knowing you're here. I'm going to ask for a promise, Luna, I'm going to ask you to promise me you'll look after Draco. No matter what comes."

"That is a very Slytherin promise," Luna accused. "You know very well I won't say no."

"You're right on both counts. But I do think you'll be good for Draco. As you say, he needs a friend."

"It's not a difficult promise to make, I like Draco. I find him quite interesting, and he's a good teacher. I've been helping him brew the healing potions and he's teaching me a lot."

"Draco always had a natural ability for potions," Lucius said. "Funny really, potions take patience and patience isn't one of Draco's virtues."

Luna laughed. "It really isn't."

"This is very good by the way," Lucius said.

It was odd, listening to them talking about him, Draco thought, although not unpleasant, unlike when he talked about people, whether they were in earshot or not. Loony Luna Lovegood had said he was her friend; and Draco didn't like it at all.

 

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

"I wonder what's happened to Draco?"

Luna speaking his name brought Draco back to the present, pushing off the wall he entered the kitchen. "Here I am."

Luna was standing by the counter, she had at some point between leaving his bedroom and going down to the kitchen put on a bathrobe. She turned to face him, the bathrobe was tied loosely at her waist and gaped at the neck, slipping down and exposing, Draco couldn't help but notice, one creamy tantalising shoulder.

"Do you want some, Draco?" she asked.

Draco started, confusion clouding his mind for a moment and a rush of heat colouring his cheeks. "Huh? Ah...What?"

"Hot chocolate, do you want some?"

"Um... yes. I... yes, I'll have some."

"Would you like whipped cream?"

He frowned at her sweetly innocent face. What kind of question was that to be asking on a Tuesday evening, he thought crossly. Thank goodness she couldn't read minds. "Yes. Fine."

She nodded, turning away to make his drink and Draco slumped down at the table beside his father.

"Everything all right?" Lucius asked.

Stifling a sigh Draco nodded. He was just slowly going mad.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Lucius put down his cutlery and pulled out a rolled up magazine from the inner pocket of his robes. "It's a few days out of date, but I thought you might like it, Luna."

It was Luna now, Draco noted, not Miss Lovegood.

Luna took a seat opposite him, placing two mugs of hot chocolate topped with whipped cream on the table and sliding one across to him. She reached for the magazine her entire face lighting up. "The Quibbler. You brought me The Quibbler. Thank you, Mr Malfoy."

It was her reward, Draco thought sceptically, for promising to look after him.

There was a noise in the corridor and Potter, Weasley and Granger appeared. They looked surprised to see them sitting in the kitchen.

"Mr Malfoy, when did you get here?" Potter asked.

"You should have called us," Granger said. "We'd have come down to see you."

"Well, you're here now," Draco said dryly.

"Look, Harry." Luna held up the magazine. "Mr Malfoy brought me a copy of The Quibbler."

"That's great Luna," Potter said.

"Anything about the battle?" Weasley wondered.

"Oh yes, front page news," Luna said, pulling her bathrobe back into place.

Potter leant over her, a hand on the table on either side of her to read the magazine and Draco frowned. Potter had glasses for Merlin's sake, surely he couldn't be so bloody blind he needed to be _that_ close to her. They were practically cheek to cheek.

Resting an arm on Potter's shoulder Weasley crowded in and Granger took up residence on Luna's other side. They were silent for a few minutes all engrossed in the front page.

"Your dad really knows how to tell a story, Luna," Weasley said.

"Daddy's a very good reporter."

"He's the only one who was willing to publicly back me and now he's the only one who's willing to tell the truth," Potter said.

"He really does tell it like it is," Granger said. "No sugar coating, and that's a good thing. People need to know what we're up against, they need to know what we're fighting and what the reign of the Dark Lord will really mean."

"I think people know that already, Hermione," Weasley said. "All these stupid laws the Ministry keeps passing about blood status says it all."

Luna looked up at Lucius. "Daddy's been at Hogsmead, hasn't he?"

"Yes he has. Purely in an observational capacity. He's there to report, not to fight."

"Daddy's isn't afraid to fight," Luna said firmly. "But older wizards have slower reflexes, its just nature taking its course. It's better for him if he stays out of the fighting and helps in other ways."

Draco recalled her saying something similar to him when he had first arrived at the house. Luna saw people, she saw beyond them to their weaknesses and strived to make it better.

Luna closed the magazine and hugged it to her chest. "How was he?"

"Well," Lucius said.

"Good. I'm glad he's keeping busy."

"There's a lot of stuff to report," Weasley said. "I bet he's working overtime to get The Quibbler out."

"Not too busy to miss you, though," Granger added, giving Luna's shoulder a squeeze and Luna smiled up at her.

Potter sat down next to Luna. "How's it going out there, Mr Malfoy?"

"Charlie's doing well, he's got a strong force behind him, but little pockets of Death Eaters keep popping up. They don't want to surrender Hogsmead."

"Is there anything we can do?" Potter asked.

"Stay away and stay alive."

Potter nodded. "We're working on something."

"Does this something have to do with your mission from Dumbledore?"

"Yes, but it might take a while," Granger admitted.

"If something is worth doing its worth doing right, even if it takes time," Luna said getting to her feet. "Come along, Harry."

Draco started, a little fizzle of something in his gut that she would invite Potter and not him.

Potter blinked up at her. "Are we going somewhere?"

"Mr Malfoy could use some time alone with Draco, he's just too polite to say it," Luna said.

Weasley snorted. "That's not exactly the word that comes to mind when we're talking about Malfoy's."

"I don't suppose your mother would say you're being very polite at the moment," Lucius said.

"Guess its the kind of thing that happens when you're dragged up," Draco retorted snidely.

"Draco," Lucius said silkily, "play nice."

"Who the hell..." Ron began furiously.

"Ron!" Granger snapped. "Let's not start a pointless argument."

Potter let out a sigh and ruffled his hair, throwing a grin Luna's way. "Just like old times."

"Luna has a point," Granger said. "Come on, lets leave Mr Malfoy and Draco alone. We can talk in the morning, if that's ok with you, Mr Malfoy?"

Lucius nodded and they turned to leave. Draco watched Luna disappear between Weasley and Potter before turning his attention back to his father. "Did you see her?"

"No." Lucius took a moment to chew a forkful of omelette. "But I will. Bellatrix is not my major concern at the moment."

"The woman who killed my mother isn't concerning you!"

"Bellatrix is a constant presence in my mind, but I have other matters to attend to."

"She should be the only one you want to attend to. You said you'd deal with her, but you haven't even seen her." Common sense told Draco his father couldn't simply walk through the door of Malfoy Manor and kill Bellatrix, but he felt his father should be doing _something_ to avenge the death of Narcissa Malfoy.

"Calm yourself, Draco. I understand this may be difficult for you to accept, but there are more important matters at stake than revenge."

"You're far too busy running around after Potter to even spare a thought for my mother," he said bitterly. The chair scraped along the floor as Draco pushed it back and got to his feet. "At least one of us should give a damn!"

His face tightened but Lucius didn't respond, instead his eyes flickered to the door and Draco automatically turned to look, Luna was standing in the doorway and Draco rather wished she wasn't.

"I'm sorry," she said awkwardly. "I forgot my drink."

"It's quite all right," Lucius said.

Luna drifted to the table and took up her mug, she looked from one to the other before settling on Lucius. "I don't suppose you want to tell us exactly what's bothering you, but I hope you have someone you can talk to. Professor Lupin perhaps."

"Or my brother." Weasley stormed into the room. "You know my brother, Charlie Weasley, the person you have doing the fighting for you."

Draco figured his raised voice must have brought them back, Granger and Potter were with him. Draco silently cursed his own temper. He didn't want any of them bearing witness to his arguments with his father. Malfoy's did not air their grievances in public.

"My family are out there fighting while your pompous ferret of a son is tucked up here nice and safe. If there's something wrong, I want to know about it," Weasley demanded.

"There's really no need for name calling," Luna said airily.

"Stay out of this, Luna," Weasley snapped.

"Don't speak to her like that," Draco said with scowl. He had been short and rude towards her on numerous occasions since his arrival, but somehow it was different to hear somebody else speak that way to her. He really didn't like it, and Luna didn't deserve it. She smiled across at him and Draco experienced a funny sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Shut up, Ron," Potter waved a hand at his friend to silence him. "And don't take your bad mood out on Luna."

Weasley shook his head and sighed. "Sorry, Luna. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's ok, Ron. I know you're worried about your family."

"Yes, I am," Weasley said, "If there's something else coming I should know about it."

Lucius let out a heavy sigh. "Until the war is over there'll always be something else coming."

Granger's hands came to rest on her hips. "Mr Malfoy, I have to agree with Luna. If you have concerns you should tell someone. The Order should know, they'll take anything you have to say seriously, you know that."

"Charlie is aware," Lucius allowed. "And so is Lupin."

Weasley glared at him. "Tell me. If my family are in danger I want to know about it."

"And do what exactly?" Lucius asked, a note of sarcasm in his tone.

"When you tell me what it is I'll figure something out," Weasley retorted.

"I'm on the edge of my seat," Draco muttered.

Lucius sat back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest raising an eyebrow. "What exactly would your brilliant plan be to deal with werewolves?"

"Werewolves?" Potter echoed.

"Oh, they're fascinating," Luna said.

A ghost of a smile touched Draco's lips and he noticed a warm look of affection cross Potter's face. Draco's forehead wrinkled in response.

"Grayback to be exact," Lucius admitted. "There's been no sign of him. And it appears the only werewolf to have joined the fight in any capacity other than Grayback is Lupin. The wolves have not yet chosen a side."

"Do you think Grayback has something to do with that?" Granger wondered.

"It's a possibility," Lucius replied. "I know he's previously been seeking out other werewolves trying to get them all riled up and join the Death Eaters."

"That probably didn't go so well," Luna murmured, picking up her hot chocolate and taking a sip. "English werewolves do things so oddly."

Draco gave a quick glance around at the others, all eyes were on Luna, all with various looks of surprise on their faces. It should have come as no surprise Luna had some sort of knowledge about werewolves, she seemed to know a little bit about everything. Her tastes were eclectic, she absorbed obscure facts and tucked them away in her odd little brain to bring out into the open at the most random moments, unusually in this case, it was the perfect moment.

"What do you mean?" Granger asked.

"Well," Luna began, tracing the rim of her mug with her index finger. "Daddy always thought society should treat those who happen to be werewolves much better than they do. It's unfair you know, to practically exile them for something which isn't their fault. Werewolves are only dangerous when they turn, and if they take proper precautions like Professor Lupin everything should be ok. Daddy wanted to educate people about werewolves, he wanted to publish a special edition of The Quibbler dedicated to them, but werewolves are very secretive. Hardly any in this country would talk to him, we had to go all the way to the Appalachian Mountains to find wolves who would share their experiences. The werewolves over there live in packs, all wolves together. Over here they tend to be lone wolves, like Professor Lupin. Personally I think being part of a pack is better, they seem stronger for it." Her lips pursed, a thoughtful look crossing her face. "I think the werewolves over here need to be more focused. I think they need an alpha."

"Alpha?" Weasley questioned.

"The alpha is the leader of the pack," Luna said.

"Leader," Potter spoke quietly, eyes lifting and finding Lucius. "Someone strong, someone like Grayback."

Lucius nodded. "Possibly. We don't know anything for certain, at the moment its all speculation."

Luna rolled her shoulders, her robe slipped and Draco wet his lower lip; there it was again, her shoulder, all soft and bare.

"Grayback might be strong, but he's not exactly alpha material. Someone like Professor Lupin would be much better suited. He's smart and level headed, he would put the pack first and teach the others how to do the same," Luna said.

"I suppose," Granger began slowly. "Considering the werewolves are shunned so much, they may not want to fight with us. Like Mr Malfoy said, the werewolves haven't chosen a side yet and its going to come down to whether they want to punish the society which has ostracized them and team up with Grayback, or whether they realise the Death Eaters and their pureblood mania will in fact make life worse for them."

Luna stood up and took her mug to the sink. "It'll be interesting to see if the werewolves do decide to join the war. They may just stay out of it completely and just make the best of what's left." She pushed her hair back from her face. "I'm going up to bed now. Goodnight."

Goodnight's were exchanged and Luna drifted from the room, The Quibbler tucked safely under her arm.

Draco said his own goodnight to his father a short time later and headed up to bed. He was tired and his thoughts kept circling back to Luna in the Appalachian Mountains surrounded by werewolves. Werewolves were secretive, they kept themselves hidden away and disliked anyone who could disturb the peace they had found for themselves. Werewolves were temperamental, they could lash out any anyone at any time. The thought of Luna amongst such creatures turned him cold. She didn't shy away from danger, that much was obvious, she had accompanied Potter to The Department of Mysteries and fought the Death Eaters there, including his own father and he had a vague recollection of seeing her fighting the Death Eaters the night he had helped them gain access to Hogwarts; but that was different, she had been put in a fight or die situation. To actively seek out werewolves for a chat was so bloody dangerous, anything could have happened to her.

Pushing open the bedroom door Draco stopped short. Luna was sitting on the transfigured bed The Quibbler open across her legs.

"Oh, you're here."

Draco's lips pursed. "This is my room. I sleep here."

"I just assumed you'd spend some more time with your father."

"I'll see him in the morning."

"You should make peace with him in the morning. Now that he's here it might be easy to forget how worried you've been about him when he's been away."

Draco sighed and rubbed a hand across his forehead, he felt a bit guilty, his father was right there and he was fighting with him. It sort of felt like a slap in the face to Luna who, Draco knew, missed her father a lot.

"I... um, have to change."

Luna turned away from him. "Go ahead, I won't look."

Draco glared at her back, yanking his trousers over his hips and replacing them with pyjama bottoms. Of course she wouldn't, Luna Lovegood would certainly be no peeker. Not that he wanted her to peek or anything like that, and she wouldn't be around to peek or do anything if she kept wandering off into werewolf colonies. "How long were you in the Appalachian Mountains?"

"Not too long. Werewolves aren't the most hospitable. But we were there long enough for daddy to get the information he needed."

Pulling his shirt off Draco tugged a t-shirt over his head. "You're mad!" He was suddenly extremely angry

"That's always been the general consensus."

"You can turn around now. And don't give me that Loony Lovegood nonsense. I know you aren't loony, but you must be out of your mind to go searching out werewolves. Your father ought to know better than to take you to the middle of a bloody werewolf colony. Anything could have happened to you. You could have been killed or worse. He should be more responsible when it comes to your safety. What kind of father is he!"

She turned back to him, face set, body tense. She looked as though he'd slapped her. Too far, Draco thought, he'd gone too far.

"I didn't mean that," Draco said quickly.

She gave him a searching look. She didn't look angry, she didn't look as though she were going to hex him and storm out. In fact her face softened. "Yes you did, but not in a mean way. You're just concerned, which is sort of strange considering the event is in the past, but it's nice, it's what friends do."

Pulling back the duvet Draco climbed into bed, teeth gritted so hard his entire face was strained. If she called him her friend one more time!

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

Draco had breakfasted with his father who had subsequently gone back to join The Order at Hogsmead and he was now sitting in the drawing room watching Luna clean. Draco was feeling better about her today; he'd given the matter some serious thought and of course he kept getting irritated when she called him her friend,. He and Luna were worlds apart, he'd be utterly mortified should anyone find out how he had relied on her, how he'd had nobody but her, he'd never live it down. Friends, he and Loony Lovegood, friends; it was ridiculous.

Still, he watched her.

She wore a pair of faded lavender jeans and a blue jumper with the sleeves rolled up. A duster was making its way around the picture frames, a broom swept the floor and the faint scent of lemons lingered in the air. In her hands she held a statue of an owl in flight as she carefully cleaned around the wings.

”You’re behaving like a muggle.” 

“Do you always have to use that scornful tone whenever you say muggle?” 

The amusement in her voice was evident and it surprised Draco. If he had been speaking to Potter or Granger they would most likely have started up an argument about his tone of voice and accused him of being arrogant. “Why shouldn’t I use it? Muggles are inferior to me.” 

“You think everyone is inferior to you.” Luna rolled her eyes, but there was a smile curling her lips. 

“Nearly everyone is, I’m a Malfoy." 

“I suppose it depends on your idea of inferior." 

Draco wasn't sure he liked the way this conversation was going. The last thing he wanted was to get into an argument with her about blood status, she'd never believe the things he did and Draco didn't have the energy to try and convince her. Luna's mindset was something altogether different from anyone else's. “I don’t see why you want to clean anyway, Potter has a house elf for that kind of thing.” 

“This house is big, it’s not fair for Kreacher to have to do all the work himself.” 

“He’s a house elf, it’s what he’s meant to do,” Draco reminded her. 

“No, it’s what wizards have made them do over the years,” Luna replied quietly.

Again, Draco decided this was a topic of conversation to keep clear of, he could feel the tension creeping between them. Their view points were vastly different and he didn't want to fight with her. Letting out a sigh he stretched out his leg, prodding her with the toe of his shoe. "Entertain me," he whined.

Luna laughed and the mood shifted, lightened. "What would you like me to do?"

And just like that, the tension was back in him. His fingers flexed over the arm of the chair and he swallowed thickly; there were so many answers to that question. Draco cleared his throat. "Um... cards or chess or something?"

She placed the owl back on the mantle and turned to him. "I found a jigsaw. We could do that for a change."

"Uh huh. Fine."

She brought the jigsaw over and knelt at the coffee table, turning the box to face him, displaying a wooded glen with rabbits hiding in the grass, squirrels climbing the trees and a deer drinking at a river. "It's a nice picture, isn't it?"

Draco knew she didn't mean to, but Luna had the knack of making things worse, for she did make a nice picture; eyes wide and innocent, cheeks slightly flushed from the housework and tendrils of hair escaping the long braid which fell down her back.

"Pretty," he murmured.

She smiled, emptying the pieces across the coffee table. "I always start with the edges. Shall we start with the edges, or do you have a different method?"

"Whatever you like."

Luna glanced up at him. "Don't you like jigsaws?"

The note of worry in her voice touched him. Piecing together a jigsaw was such a simple pass time and yet she was concerned about roping him into doing something he wouldn't enjoy. Luna could always find time to think of somebody else when nobody had ever found the time to think about her. A worm of guilt made itself known in his gut; any time he had ever given her was attention he knew Luna could have lived without, yet she never reproached him about it. She simply behaved as though he hadn't been a complete git towards her.

Her head tilted when he didn't answer right away. "I didn't expect that to be the type of question which required a lot of thought."

Draco shrugged. "I had jigsaws growing up, obviously. But I'm not sure if I really enjoyed doing them."

"Did you do them with your mother?"

"Sometimes."

"That's probably where the confusion comes into it. My mother liked gardening, I used to spend time in the garden with her but I was more interested in the birds and the animals than planting flowers. When she died it felt wrong to say I hadn't enjoyed gardening, it was like I was saying I hadn't enjoyed spending time with her. It's ok to not like the same things as your mother and its ok to have resented spending time with her doing jigsaws when you would rather have been doing something else. That's just what it's like being a child. You don't need to feel guilty about it."

"There's nobody quite like you," Draco said quietly.

Her cheeks pinked a little and Draco was absolutely mortified the words had passed his lips, but it was too late to take them back, they hung in the air between them; not an insult, not a declaration, but something which shifted and confused the dynamic of their relationship.

Before Luna could form any sort of response the door opened and Harry entered the room a book in his hand. He smiled at Luna, barely even glancing at Draco and took a seat on the sofa, hunching forward over his knees.

"Hello, Harry."

"Hi Luna. Are you busy?"

Luna shook her head. "Can I help you with something?"

"Possibly." Harry held out the book to her. "Do you know what that symbol means?"

Luna took the book and Draco leant forward, ridiculously pleased when she tilted the book so he could see the symbol as well; no matter what she was doing, Luna actively included him.

"It's the symbol of the Deathly Hallows," Luna said.

Draco snorted. "I'd have thought The Chosen One would have more important things to do than read children's stories."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean? What's the Deathly Hallows?" He wiggled when they both stared disbelievingly at him. "What?"

"The Deathly Hallows, Harry," Luna said.

Draco took a moment to remember his black leather bound Deathly Hallows book with the gold leaf symbol of the Hallows on the front cover which sat on his bookshelf. "Not my favourite bed time story, but my mother read it to me fairly often."

"Daddy used to read it to me," Luna said. "He loves the story of the Hallows. And its more than a bedtime story, Draco."

Draco groaned. "Oh come on, Luna. You can't sit there and tell me you believe in the Hallows."

"Wait a minute." Harry held up a hand to silence them. "Back up a bit, Luna. What exactly are the Hallows?"

"How can you not know? Everybody knows the story," Draco exclaimed.

"Well I don't, I didn't grow up in the wizarding world, remember? I grew up with stories like Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan and Robin Hood, and the most retold story in the world, Cinderella."

"Cinderella?" Luna tried out the unfamiliar name.

"Yes, you know, Cinderella and the glass slipper," Harry said. "Sleeping Beauty and the spinning wheel and the dragon," he added when they both continued to stare at him.

"Dragon?" Luna perked up a little. "What about the dragon, Harry?"

"Oh, um, well, the Prince battles the dragon to save the princess."

"Like you," she said with a smile. "Except the saving the princess bit."

Harry laughed. "Not exactly like me. The prince slays the dragon, I just sort of..."

"Tried not to die?" Draco supplied dryly.

Harry grinned. "Something like that."

Draco was instantly irritated, not that he wanted to hear all about Potter's heroics, but why did Potter always have to downplay everything? He always made out it was no big deal when everyone knew the things Potter had done, everything he had been through was a big deal. They were all sitting there right now because of the things Potter had done.

"What about the spinning wheel, what does that do?" Luna asked.

"It's cursed, the princess pricks her finger on the spindle and falls into a deep sleep. Well, she was supposed to die," Harry amended. "But the good fairy changed it so Princess Aurora would sleep until love's first kiss."

Luna let out a sigh and, Draco noted, looked a little dreamier than usual. His brow furrowed. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of Potter telling Luna love stories.

"That's lovely, Harry," Luna said. "But we've sort of come in at the end. You should start at the beginning. Why was there a curse?"

Before he quite knew where he was, Draco found himself listening to the story of Sleeping Beauty. He didn't mind the bit where the evil Maleficent turned into a dragon and battled with Prince Phillip, but the rest he found mind numbingly boring. Luna however, enjoyed the story and would gently interpose a question now and then to make Potter elaborate when Draco was pretty sure Potter was trying to tell the shortest version manageable.

Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip had just danced away to live happily ever after when the door opened and Hermione appeared. She sent an exasperated look at Harry.

"Here you are, Harry. What are you doing? You've been up her for ages."

"Sorry, Hermione. I got side tracked."

"Doing what?"

"Harry was telling us the story of Sleeping Beauty," Luna said.

Hermione stared, nonplussed for a moment. "Sleeping Beauty?"

"Yes, do you know the story, Hermione?" Luna asked.

"Yes I know the story," Hermione said, another exasperated look crossing her face. "Harry, why are you telling them the story of Sleeping Beauty?"

Harry rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm not quite sure," he admitted. "We sort of got onto it and then it was difficult to get off it again."

Draco could identify, Luna frequently got him on to topics of conversation and he couldn't quite work out how they got there. Talking to Luna was like walking in a forest, he ended up twisting and turning until he was quite lost, Draco had found it was best to let Luna lead him out the other side rather than try to get out by himself; somehow that only made things more complicated.

"But," Harry said quickly, "I got the answer. It's the symbol of The Deathly Hallows. Luna knows what that means and..."

"I know what The Deathly Hallows are," Hermione interrupted. She crossed the room to pluck the book out of Luna's hand and examine the cover. "Are you sure, Luna?"

"Oh yes. That's the symbol of The Hallows. The triangle represents the invisibility cloak, the circle inside it is the resurrection stone and the line inside the circle is the Elder wand."

"I know what an invisibility cloak is, but what's a resurrection stone and what's the Elder wand?" Harry asked.

Luna opened her mouth to reply but Draco jumped in before she could form the first word. "The story book is in the library downstairs, that should tell you everything you need to know and I'm sure Weasley could fill in the blanks, or Granger, she seems to know all about it."

"The Hallows aren't...." Luna began.

"Don't you have something important to do, Potter?" Draco didn't want Potter getting bogged down in the story of the Deathly Hallows, then he'd never sod off.

"Not as important as a jigsaw," Potter retorted.

Before Draco could send a snide comment Potter's way the sound of yelling reached them from the floor below. Potter and Granger exchanged startled looks and hurried from the room. Draco held out a hand to Luna as she uncurled her feet from beneath her, a smile touched her lips at the offer and she grasped his hand, getting to her feet, fingers sliding through his. Her hand was warm, her skin soft and a tingle made itself known in Draco's palm as they followed Granger and Potter down the stairs, Luna moved so quickly she almost tumbled down the stairs, Draco's hand in hers steadying her.

Draco and Luna followed the commotion to the kitchen. Potter, Weasley and Granger stood in a semi circle watching a man, shabbily dressed with a bald head and a pocket watch chain protruding from his jacket pocket, who was yelling and squirming in the grasp of two house elves. One of the elves was Potter's, the other, Draco let out a breath, eyes widening, was Dobby, the old Malfoy house elf. Before Potter tricked Lucius into freeing him.

Guilt and fright prickled beneath Draco's skin, he wanted to slink away into the house and take Luna with him. Luna, whose hand was still in his. He wanted to get Luna away from Dobby. Dobby was a free elf now, there was nothing to stop him airing past grievances, and Dobby had a lot of grievances to air. Life with the Malfoy's had not been easy or pleasant. Draco hadn't been overly cruel, not by other Master and Elf standards, but he hadn't been nice to Dobby, frequently running him ragged and taking out his bad moods and frustrations out on the little elf. Draco didn't want Luna finding out about it, she wouldn't look at him the same if she knew how he'd treated Dobby, who couldn't disobey or argue back.

"Will you get these creatures off me!" The man yelled, trying to wriggle free from the house elves.

"Kreacher, Dobby, it's ok you can let him go now," Potter said.

Mundungus Fletcher ran a hand over his bald head. "Ah, so, Harry, how's everything?"

"Uh, Luna," Potter turned to look at her. "I'll come and find you later, ok?"

"Yes, all right, Harry."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief, happy to turn away with Luna and leave the kitchen, leave Potter and his house elves to it. He pulled Luna after him, experiencing a sharp pang when she looked down at their joined hands, a surprised expression crossing her face, as though she had forgotten they still touched.

How could she have forgotten? How did she not feel his hand in hers? They were touching, entwined, flesh to flesh, skin to skin, in a non-comforting way, and she hadn't even _realised_.

She led him back to the drawing room, her fingers slipped from his when she entered the room and Draco felt the loss of her touch. He took his seat again, bottom lip sticking out in a sulk and Luna sank down beside the coffee table.

"Is something wrong, Draco? You look rather out of sorts."

"Who was that man?" Draco asked, not because he was interested, but because he didn't want her poking at him as to why he was out of sorts.

"Mundungus Fletcher. He's a member of The Order. Mrs Weasley thinks he's a bad influence on Fred and George, although Fred and George can get up to enough mischief without any outside influence," she smiled slightly. "They call him Dung. Mr Fletcher, he went with The Order to help Harry leave his family home, he, Hermione, Ron, the twins, Bill and Fleur al took polyjuice potion to look like Harry and they each left with another member of The Order to try and confuse the Death Eaters. Mr Fletcher was with Mad Eye Moody, he panicked and disapperated, Mr Moody was killed. You'll have to tell me about it sometime, Draco, being turned into a ferret I mean, I've never been transfigured. I wonder how different it is to being an animagus. Transfiguration was forced on you, of course, whereas one chooses to be an animagus."

"I don't want to talk about it," Draco snapped.

"As you like, Draco," she replied agreeably. "George lost his ear at the same time, he was riding with Professor Lupin and Professor Snape showed up and cast the Sectumsempra spell."

"Sectumsempra," Draco murmured, fingers touching to his chest.

"Oh yes," Luna said. "Harry used that spell on you, didn't he? You have to know he didn't mean it, Draco. Harry didn't know what the spell would do. He may not like you very much but Harry didn't want to hurt you that badly."

"I believe you. It's not Saint Potter's style," he said snidely.

Luna turned back to the jigsaw. "Shall we start on this?"

"I suppose so."

She shifted over a little. "Are you coming to sit down here?"

Draco slid from his seat and moved to kneel beside her. She was spreading the pieces out across the table and Draco's eyes closed for a moment; he could feel her; he could feel her warmth and even though her arm didn't brush his, he could feel her movements like a vibration against his skin.

"Edges first?"

Draco nodded. "Edges first."

Spotting a corner piece, Draco reached for it at the same time Luna did. His fingers collided with hers, the urge to grasp hold of her surged but she picked up the piece, moving away from his hovering fingers before he could follow through on the urge. Thank Merlin, it was a stupid thing to think, but no matter how firmly he told himself this, the urge was still there.

 


	16. Chapter 16

"It's coming along nicely," Luna said, admiring the jigsaw. "Except, well, the rabbit is missing an eye and an ear."

"There it is," Draco said, reaching for it.

Luna reached for the piece at the same time. Draco got there first, causing her fingers to close over his. His eyes lifted swiftly to her face, a light blush graced her cheeks, but instead of withdrawing her hand, her fingers tightened over his and her eyes darkened.

His heart sped up. His breathing changed. A tingle ran through his blood. A familiar urge surged, and this time Draco followed through on it without hesitation. He grasped her shoulders, pulling her against him. His mouth caught hers, crushing her lips beneath his; heat flared, desire erupted, need exploded.

And she was kissing him back.

Her arms went around him, her fingers burrowed in his hair and she pulled him closer with a little moan.

Tangling his hands in her hair Draco tipped her head back for a better angle. He couldn't stop kissing her, he couldn't get enough of her and by the way Luna was clutching at his scalp she felt the same way.

"Draco."

His name rolled from her in a breathy moan and Draco shuddered, a sound of appreciation leaving him as his lips moved over her face and jaw. Her breath was heavy again his cheek by the time he reach her neck, her earring grazing his nose as he got beneath her ear, drawing the skin between his lips.

She moaned again. "Draco, I want you. I want you now."

One hand dropped from his shoulder to move between his legs and Draco's body jerked.

He shot upright, wide awake, hot and sweaty and panting for breath. Wild eyes went straight to the transfigured bed and Draco's shoulders relaxed a fraction when he saw Luna wasn't there. Drawing his legs up, Draco let his elbows rest on his knees and dropped his head into his hands as he tried to calm his breathing. There was no calming his body, every part of him felt hot and hard and ready. He had no idea what, if anything, he may have been mumbling or moaning in his sleep, thank Merlin she wasn't still in bed.

With a sigh, Draco got out of bed, it was time for a shower. A long cold shower. He hoped Luna wasn't in the bathroom, he didn't want to see her until he got himself all sorted out and back to normal. Taking the towel from the back of the door and some clothes from a drawer Draco made his way to the bathroom, luckily it was unoccupied. After cleaning his teeth he jumped into the shower, closing his eyes as the water ran over him. He ran his hands through his hair, combing the wet locks along his head. Draco squeezed his eyes closed and licked at this lower lip.

Luna was there, lodged in his mind, hovering behind his eyes and she wouldn't budge, she just tipped her head and smiled sweetly at him. Draco saw it, clear as day, as though it had really happened; the darkening of her eyes, that look which said she wanted him. And he heard it, her soft dreamy voice even more breathless than usual whispering the words

_I want you, Draco. I want you now._

Droplets of water gathered in the corners of his eyes, trickled down his nose to his mouth. His lips parted, wet with water and his breathing sped up, he pressed a hand to his tightening stomach, the other against the slick tiles.

He wanted.

His hand drifted lower, knuckles brushing against his erection.

He wanted...

At the last minute his mind went to his mother, the most important person in his life. Narcissa Malfoy had been a lady, always elegant her voice never raised and her manners impeccable. His mother had worn stylish clothes, her long blonde hair styled neatly with expensive jewels glittering at her throat and wrists. Luna was not a lady. Draco knew it was not in her blood to be a lady as his mother had been. Luna did not have what Narcissa would refer to as “good breeding”. There was no aristocratic look to her face, no money or prestige in her bloodline. Yet, Luna walked with a gentle grace, she had a deep well of kindness inside her which spilled out onto anyone who needed help and comfort. Luna was bright and intelligent, her misty silvery eyes could express so many emotions if anyone chose to look, and he had looked. Draco had seen intense emotions clouding Luna’s eyes. Intense emotions clouded his mind when he was around Luna. It was frightening how much he was drawn to her, how she could make him forget everything and see only her.  


Switching off the shower Draco pushed the curtain back, it rattled along the metal pole. He took up the towel from where he had draped it over the sink in easy reach and as he dried himself off he took in the room, his nose automatically wrinkling at the pokiness of it. He had his very own bathroom at Malfoy Manor which was twice the size of this, all white shining porcelain, gold taps he could see his face in and a huge bath and shower. Draco eyed the small oval bathtub, it had a distinctly beige sheen to it which he believed had, at some time in years gone by, been white, and it was propped up off the floor by big iron feet where dust and grime had settled in the ridges. It was bloody ancient, just like everything else in this downtrodden place. Draco felt the shame of Potter’s house wash over him. He was a Malfoy, they had high standards, they were the elite aristocrats of the wizarding world, and for the first time Draco was glad his mother wasn’t there to have to put up with the injustice of this way of living. 

Luna however, had adapted quite well to life in Potter’s house. The dust, the musty smell, the damp, the ancient furniture didn’t seem to bother her at all. Luna cleaned the house and made snacks for everyone, she took it all in her stride in a way his mother wouldn’t have done. What was he doing here? Why was he, Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, the pride of the Malfoy family stuck in this place with these people who were so far beneath his notice it was laughable. He was born to be pampered and waited upon, to have house elves running to coddle him and carry out his every little whim, not to be locked away from all the luxury and splendour of his home, his birth right, where he had danced and dined and mixed with the pureblood elite. Lucius had married Narcissa under the roof of Malfoy Manor, he was meant to marry his bride there, and his son and his son’s son were meant to take bride’s there. 

Would there be no more weddings or births beneath the roof of the house he so loved and so longed to rule? Draco closed his eyes tightly, trying his best to keep his thoughts away from the lazy luxury of the old days, but he couldn’t stop them sweeping down through his mind, remembering a way of living perhaps gone forever. Maybe the old days were gone, Draco didn’t know for sure, but his mother’s teachings were still with him, instilled into him when he was a small child. Luna was so unlike his mother, she was not genteel, she was not a lady, she could not stand by his side and rule Malfoy Manor with the quiet authority Narcissa had. Draco couldn’t turn his back on his mother’s teachings; he couldn’t betray his mother by allowing himself to feel something for someone like Luna. Narcissa Malfoy’s son could never be with someone like Luna. Draco couldn’t shame his mother, he just couldn’t, or his father, or himself. 

Living with Luna, being in close proximity to her all the time was just scrambling his mind, making him think he felt things he didn’t. Draco didn’t feel anything for Luna, whatever he thought he felt wasn't real. Stuck with her all the time, the only girl he saw, it stood to reason his thoughts might stray places they wouldn't usually go. When this war was all over and they had all gone back to their separate lives, he would die of shame if it ever came out that he had even been friendly with her.

Mind made up, a determined clench to his jaw, Draco got dressed, smoothed his hair back and opened the door. His determination faltered immediately. Luna was sitting on the top step, evidently waiting for him.

She smiled brightly and jumped to her feet. "Oh Draco, it's over. Charlie took Hogsmead. Everyone's downstairs. You're father's back."

Her cheeks were flushed with excitement her eyes shining and Draco's body stirred again in response.

"Draco, didn't you hear me?" She looked puzzled for a moment, but then reached for him, taking his hand and giving him a little tug. "Come on, Draco."

She was so bloody distracting. He should be hurrying downstairs to see his father, but her hand in his was all Draco could focus on. Luna being Luna, took charge, sending his things to the bedroom and pulling him after her down the stairs.

Voice reached him, loud and joyous each one bubbling over the others. Just as Luna had said, everyone was in the kitchen, his father, Potter, all the Weasley's, Granger, Lupin and Tonks. They looked tired but happy, there was a lightness about each and every one of them Draco hadn't seen before. Mrs Weasley, Bill and Fleur were at the cooker and kitchen counters preparing food. Mr Weasley was busying filling pitchers with orange juice and Tonks was bringing plates and cutlery to the table.

Charlie Weasley sat with his back to the door, and at the head of the table was Lucius Malfoy.

There was an empty space to his father's left and then sat Potter. Granger was on his father's right, she spotted them in the doorway and she shifted up a seat. "Here you go, Draco. Sit here."

Luna released him to allow him to take the seat and she went around the table to sit beside Potter. Before she could sit Potter looked up at her with an appealing expression.

"You don't happen to feel like making your French toast, do you, Luna?" Potter glanced over his shoulder at Mrs Weasley before h spoke again. "I don't really feel like a big breakfast."

Luna nodded. "Yes of course, Harry."

Draco sat beside his father, surprised and touched when his father laid a hand over his wrist for a moment, as if to reassure himself his son was there with him. Then he withdrew his hand letting both rest loosely on the table.

Everyone was talking at once, Fred and George were telling a story of their brother Bill's bravery and Bill was shouting over his shoulder interrupting them to praise Tonks. Tonks was trying to downplay the danger she had put herself in and instead tried to shift the focus to Viktor Krum's heroics.

"If his Quidditch career is over he's going to wish he'd left you fend for yourself," George said laughing.

Tonks grinned. "He'll be fine, a few broken bones won't kill him."

"No like poor old Kingsley," Lupin said with a shake of his head. "He needed a blood transfusion. But, he'll be fine," he added hastily at the paling of Granger's face. "We could start up your lessons again if you like, Luna?"

"Oh yes," she said, glancing at Lupin over her shoulder. "I'd like that very much."

"We could have a review later this afternoon and start properly tomorrow," Lupin suggested.

Luna nodded. "Sounds good, Professor Lupin."

"Did anyone tell you that your dad's going to publish a special edition of The Quibbler," Fred asked. "He wants to get it out straight away so everyone will know about our victory."

"It should really boost morale," Luna said. "People need to know they aren't alone and The Order is fighting for them. It might bring out more allies."

The talk went on, only his father and Charlie Weasley remained silent, Draco noticed. They looked exhausted, but too alert to switch off yet. He wondered if his father was even now silently plotting and planning his next big move. There would be a next move, a next step, with Lucius Malfoy there always was.

Plates of food came to the table, scrambled eggs, sausage, tomatoes, bacon, fried bread and everyone began to help themselves. He hadn't eaten with them all together before and Draco couldn't help feeling a bit awkward, he had the feeling of intrusion again. they were all family and friends, he was neither. He was here because he had no choice and he couldn't find that first step of being civil never mind polite or friendly. His father at least had the security of being business like in his conversations with them.

Draco suddenly became aware of Luna's return to the table. She put a plate of French toast down in front of Potter and then slid another plate across to him. He should have known Luna would have thought of him.

"Great, thanks, Luna." Potter drizzled some syrup over the toast and then offered the jar to him.

Surprised, Draco took it, adding a small amount to his toast as Luna took the seat opposite him and Potter passed her the bowl of scrambled eggs.

"It's good," he offered, after taking a bite.

"It's the best," Potter corrected. "You made it the first morning you moved in, remember, Luna?"

"Yes, I remember. It feels like ever such a long time ago, Harry."

Potter nodded. "Yes it does."

"You'll be here a while yet," Lucius said. He didn't speak particularly loudly, but he had been silent for so long the sound of his voice was startling. "Our little victory isn't the beginning of the end. It's just the beginning."


	17. Chapter 17

Draco sat in the drawing room with Luna. He held a book of potions, but he wasn't reading it, he was watching her. Luna sat at the desk by the window, books and parchment spread out in front of her, one foot curled around the leg of the chair as she scribbled away. The September sun slanted in through the window, falling on her hair and picking out some golden highlights amongst the dirty blonde waves.

His dream had left him shaken and in spite of giving himself a good talking too, Draco couldn't keep his eyes off her.

He didn't have to be in the drawing room, Luna was busy catching up on her school work, she had let it slide somewhat due to the battle at Hogsmead and wasn't paying any attention to him, but Draco couldn't seem to force himself to go elsewhere. They had been there for hours and he hadn't read past the first paragraph. She really was distracting, even when she wasn't doing anything. His eyebrows rushed together in annoyance.

Ingredients, herbs, formulas; they had always calmed him, always felt like old friends coming to call and laying their secrets bare for him; but today they held no charm. Luna hovered on the outskirts of his mind refusing to allow him to concentrate. Rallying his defences, Draco began to read, pushing Luna out of his head; she didn't belong there anyway.

Once he got himself sorted, Draco managed to keep his mind on the potions book and his brain began to whirl, formula's flitting behind his eyes, slotting together, rejecting each other, possibly working out quite well. He had a good memory, but when he was working on potions he found it best to write everything down, it was easier to swop and change his formulas. He glanced up, eyes sliding out of focus for a moment as he considered matters.

"Luna, do you have a quill and parchment I could borrow?"

"Yes of course." She shuffled her books and parchment as he came over to the desk. "You can sit here, it'll be a bit of a squash but I think we'll both fit."

Bringing a chair to the table Draco slid in next to her, half wishing he hadn't, immediately she seemed to surround him. He couldn't move without brushing against her and the scent of her permeated every breath; dewy roses and sweet magnolia. It was a familiar scent, although Draco couldn't place it.

Even as he determinedly kept his attention on his parchment, Draco felt her closeness. She leant in over his shoulder, her breath a whisper against his neck sending all the fine hairs on his body standing to attention. He paused in his writing, gripping the quill so tightly he almost snapped it in half.

"What is it?" she asked quietly, as though afraid of disturbing his thought process.

"Probably nothing," he admitted. "I just like to play with theories. Sometimes they come out all right other times they're nothing at all."

"What's this theory?"

"It was Kingsley Shacklebolt who gave me the idea, or rather, him needing a transfusion. We've got a blood replenishing potion, and skele grow, but not a tissue repairing potion. I just had an idea for it that's all."

"That's not all," she exclaimed. "That's a brilliant idea, Draco."

He shrugged. "I'm sure actual potion masters have tried their hand at this, if they haven't come up with anything I doubt I will."

"Someone has to," she pointed out. "Why not you?"

"We'll see."

"You should have more faith in yourself, Draco. You're very good with potions. I'd be very interested to see how it all comes out."

"You and me both."

"You..." she paused. "You will be careful, won't you, Draco?"

"Careful?" Draco caught a flash of fear in her eyes.

"Well, things can go wrong when you're experimenting and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you, Draco."

"Your mother," he said quietly and she nodded, mouth dipping down at the corners. He wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to offer comfort as she had done for him. He wanted to draw her close and keep her there.

"I'm sure everything will be all right, but, well, sometimes I worry." She tucked her hair behind her ear, glancing out of the window as she did so and the connection was broken.

Draco could have kicked himself which just served to irritate him even more.

"Shall we have a picnic lunch?"

He blinked, a grin curling his lips at her abrupt change of topic. "Where were you thinking of having the picnic, Mount Kilimanjaro?"

She laughed. "It's a nice day today and I did say you should get sunlight and fresh air. Sitting by an open window isn't what I had in mind. We should have a picnic in the back garden."

He rose and looked out of the window down to the ground with a snort. "That isn't a back garden, Luna."

"Back yard then," she amended.

"It's a slab of concrete."

"We can't all have acre's like you," she said, a note of amusement in her voice.

"Didn't you say your house was in the middle of nowhere? The land might not actually belong to you, but you do still have acres surrounding your home."

"I didn't think of that."

"That's still a slab of concrete," Draco said, pointing to the small back yard.

She laughed and shook her head. "I'll go and make some sandwiches. Give me ten minutes and come down. I'd ask you to help, but I get the feeling you'd just get in the way."

"I'd trust that feeling," he replied and she laughed again. "Are you inviting Potter?"

"I don't want to distract Harry. Hermione will make sure they eat. And I don't really want to disturb your father or Professor Lupin, they need their rest. It'll just be us."

Draco merely nodded a wave of satisfaction washing over him at the certain knowledge he would have her all to himself with no Potter in sight, dominating the conversation with stupid muggle children's stories and tales of heroism and anything else Potter felt the need to entertain Luna with trying to take the place of everyone else in the room.

She drifted from the room and he turned to look out the window heaving a big sigh, his breath fogging the glass for a moment. It wasn't a very big back yard, made even smaller by the flower beds at each side, now over grown with weeds. The patio slabs were cracked with grass coming through at the joins and bits of old debris littering the corners. It looked just what it was, sad and neglected. Only Luna could possibly want to eat in surroundings like that, she'd probably already compiled a list of its charms, she always found the positives.

Absently, Draco ran his hand over the parchment holding his thoughts and theories for the tissue repairing potion. If anyone else had told him things could go wrong with his experiment he'd have taken it as a slight against his capabilities and talent. With Luna, it was different. He didn't feel slighted, he was touched at her concern and experienced a strong inclination to reassure her, make her a promise history would not repeat itself and he wouldn't leave her.

He couldn't help but wonder if the thought of a world without him in it filled her with the same black despair as the thought of a world without her in it did to him.

The thought was unsettling and disconcerting, it made him fidget. Fingers flexing, Draco wandered from the window and found himself beside the piano. He stared at it for a few minutes before lifting the fallboard and stroking the keys. He didn't sit, but let his fingers settle into position, hesitantly pressing down, the note sounded loud in the stillness and it made him jump.

He had a sudden flash of memory of the first time he had learned a full piece and played it proudly for his mother. His heart ached at the memory but his fingers still moved naturally across the keys producing a scale, sharp and clear, making his nostrils flare.

"Oh, it's you." Potter's voice came from behind him.

Draco closed the fallboard and turned to face Potter. "Yes."

"I thought you were with Luna."

"I was. She's making us lunch."

And _you're_ not invited, Draco thought viciously.

"I, um, just came up to the bathroom," Potter said awkwardly.

Draco stared at him nonplussed. "Oh." There really wasn't else he could say to that announcement. It was however, gratifying to see Potter was just as much at a loss as to how to interact as he was. It was funny how Potter seemed more at ease with Lucius than he did with Draco.

"Better get back," Potter said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder and disappearing.

Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head. The fate of the wizarding world rested on that idiot, Draco wasn't overly confident in their chances. He left the room and headed down to the kitchen figuring Luna was probably done by now. The back door stood open and Luna was in the kitchen holding a pitcher, without a word he took it from her, pleased by the little smile of appreciation she gave him. He stopped short when they went outside and gaped at the woollen blanket with plates and goblets set neatly on top of it.

"Something wrong?" Luna asked.

"Where's the table and chairs?"

"What table and chairs?"

"The table and chairs we sit at to eat."

Her eyebrows shot upwards. "We're having a picnic, Draco. Eating at a table isn't a picnic, it's just eating outside. Haven't you ever had a picnic before?"

"Of course I have, but sitting on the ground to eat isn't really appropriate behaviour after the age of five, is it?"

This time her eyes widened. "Isn't it? I've never thought about it. I just assumed anyone at any time could have a picnic. Why don't you try it, Draco," she encouraged. "Just for fun. You might enjoy it."

A dubious look crossed his face and he saw her hide a smile.

"I cast a cushioning charm so it's quite comfy."

He still didn't look convinced, but he set the pitcher down and joined her on the blanket. It was comfy enough, but it felt odd sitting around on the ground to eat, and eat with his fingers, although he didn't mention cutlery, he'd already amused her and he didn't want her thinking he was too ridged or stuffy; Luna was neither of those things.

As usual, Luna kept up a steady stream of chatter as they ate. Most of the time he wasn't really required to say anything unless asked a specific question. Draco didn't mind, it was easier than always holding court, always having to think of something clever or cutting to say. Everything was easier with Luna, she never expected him to be anything other than what he was in that precise moment.

"Have you ever been to Mount Kilimanjaro?"

"No," he chuckled softly. "It was the first place to come to mind."

"I bet you're what they call well travelled, aren't you?"

He considered her before responding. "I have the feeling that our definition of well travelled would differ enormously."

"I wouldn't say enormously, but I expect we'd view the concept differently. It's only natural, we had very different upbringings."

"If you're thinking of telling me about how you spent time with vampires or giants or something I don't want to hear about it," he said shortly.

"No, I wasn't going to say anything like that."

She sounded almost reassuring and Draco's brow ruffled; he didn't need reassuring, he just didn't want to hear about her putting herself in dangerous situations all the time. It turned him cold.

"I may be wrong, but I don't image you as having much interest in local customs and cultures. I image you would only want to go where it was fashionable, to be seen, as they say. Whereas daddy and I like to immerse ourselves in everything a new place has to offer. There's no right or wrong, it's just a different way of seeing the world."

She was right on the money and it bothered him. The Malfoy's did go to all the fashionable places, they did go to expensive restaurants and luxurious hotels and they did choose their holiday destinations to be seen and mix with those rich and powerful in the wizarding world. He liked the glitz and the glamour of it all.

"Well, I'd rather Monte Carlo than wandering up a mountain somewhere," he said defensively.

"Daddy and I had lots of fun wandering the mountains in Sweden. We spent all summer there one year searching for the Crumpled Horn Snorkack. We didn't find one, but it was still terrific fun."

Draco was about to ask what in the hell a Crumpled Horn Snorkack was, but thought better of it.

"I don't think," she began thoughtfully, "that I'm a fan of cities. Too many people and not enough animals, but I'd like to see them all just the same. I'd like to experience everything the world has to offer."

"That's a lot of things," he said wryly.

"Yes, quite a lot," she agreed. "Do you know what I'd really like?" she pulled the band out of her hair, massaging her scalp for a brief moment before stretching out on the blanket, knees curling. "Once this is all over I'd like to go somewhere peaceful, like the Swedish mountains in winter. I could look for the Crumple Horn Snorkack during the day and then in the night I'd have a little log cabin in the hills away from everyone else. The air would be sharp and clean and full of pine and when the snow came it would cover everything and the world would go quiet. I could have a blazing fire and hot chocolate and watch the snow fall. I do like the snow."

Her voice was soft, almost musical with a wistful note and it transported Draco to the little log cabin in the Swedish mountains. In his mind's eye he saw the snow falling, thick quiet snowflakes while the fire crackled. He was with her, stretched out before that fire, the flames casting mysterious half shadows on her bare skin. She was wrapped around him, flesh to flesh and she clung to his back as he moved between her legs; the heat between the blazed, putting the fire to shame.

Draco swallowed, hot blood rushing through him and he took a deep breath through his nose.

"Draco, would you consider making wolfsbane for Professor Lupin?"

"Huh? What? I... what?" Draco blinked rapidly, the image was fading but he was only half at Grimmauld place, the other part of him was still in the log cabin in Sweden.

"Wolfsbane," Luna said again. "Would you consider making it? It would really help Professor Lupin. We probably have most if not all of the ingredients here and anything we don't have Fred and George will get it for you. Professor Lupin says potions have never been his forte, he's tried to make it in the past but it hasn't worked out, but I think you could do it."

"Wolfsbane!" he exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how complicated and dangerous that potion is?"

"I'm sure you could make it, Draco. Maybe not right away, but you could do it."

"It's too dangerous, Luna. One wrong move and I could kill him."

"You won't," she said with utter certainty. "And you wouldn't have to do it alone. I'd help you." She rolled onto her stomach, looking up at him with those large silvery eyes. "I'll do everything you say, Draco. You tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Why the hell did she have to say something like _that_ when he still had rampant thoughts running riot in his head. And those bloody eyes, all wide and innocent gazing up at him with _those_ kind of words passing her lips.

For one wild moment Draco thought he was going to erupt like a volcano.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	18. Chapter 18

Over the next few days things at Grimmauld Place settled down. Potter, Weasley and Granger were definitely up to something, they stayed locked away for most of the day wearing increasingly harassed expressions. His father, Tonks, Bill and Charlie Weasley and various members of The Order gathered together in the study to plan their next move. Lupin would join them in the afternoon following Luna's lessons.

As for him, Draco spent his time in the drawing room studying the wolfsbane potion and working on his tissue repairing theory while in close proximity to Luna. She didn't pay much attention to him during the morning, her focus taken up with Professor Lupin, but once Lupin had declared school was over for the day, she became all his.

This was the time Draco liked best, in spite of his better judgement, the quiet afternoons leading into early dusk before the house came alive and everyone seemed to swarm into the drawing room interrupting them.

The clock on the mantle struck one o'clock and Draco looked over the top of his book expectantly, Lupin would call an end to the morning's lesson any time now. Lupin didn't know he was studying the wolfsbane potion, he and Luna had agreed not to say anything to anyone until the potion had been successfully brewed and Draco felt he was still a long way off attempting the potion. It really was complicated even with instructions.

"How are you doing with those questions, Luna? Do you want me to mark what you've done so far or wait until you've answered them all?"

"I'd rather wait," Luna said. "I'd like to go over them again before you see them."

Typical Ravenclaw, Draco thought. Luna enjoyed school and she was pretty good at her lessons, at least he had come to that conclusion from sitting in with her and Lupin. She listened intently to Lupin and asked insightful questions but sometimes, as was the way with Luna and her questions, Lupin found himself going off on a tangent completely dumbfounded as to how he had ended up there. She struggled a little with transfiguration and her concentration levels weren't quite right for potion making, but as she had previously said, she held her own when it came to potions and Draco enjoyed teaching her. Lupin didn't mention potions during their lessons, Draco wasn't sure whether Luna had said something to him, but Lupin seemed to silently acknowledge that Draco was the one to help her with her potions.

"We'll pick this up again tomorrow then, Luna. Tonks, Bill and Charlie will be here soon for a meeting, I'd better get myself downstairs."

"Oh good, Charlie's coming. Will we have time for a chat?"

"I expect they'll join us for supper."

Safe behind his book, Draco pulled a face. Luna loved creatures and Charlie was a dragon tamer. Luna loved to talk to Charlie about dragons, fascinated by any titbit of information he offered on their daily routine and listening in awe as he described some of the close encounters he'd had with them. Draco didn't dispute being a dragon tamer was a pretty cool job to have, but couldn't Charlie Weasley go and tell somebody else all about it?

Draco didn't exactly dislike Charlie, he was smart and capable; he was fun and interesting and made sure to put his baby brother in his place which was always amusing, and he didn't treat any of them like kids, but he was just so bloody charismatic. It was impossible not to feel invisible when Charlie started talking about dragons and Luna never took her eyes off him.

"I'll see you later, good job today, Luna." Remus patted her shoulder, nodded at Draco and left the room.

"I've got your list," Draco said.

"List?" she echoed.

"Of ingredients I need to stock up on. You said the Weasley twins would get them for me."

"They will," Luna said with a nod. "Well, they would if they were here. They haven't been around lately. You could ask Mr Weasley, or Tonks, she comes and goes quite often."

Draco frowned at her back. He knew exactly what she was trying to do, integrate him into the house a little more, get him to at least speak to the others, but he couldn't befriend Tonks. Nobody, not even his father had mentioned the fact they were related to Tonks, and Draco simply couldn't bring himself to acknowledge it. Not only had her mother been disowned by the family for marrying a mudblood, Tonks herself had married a half breed. Even though he knew it meant less than nothing to everyone else in the house, Draco was still ashamed of his connection to Tonks and had no wish to broach it in any way.

"I'm not fussed on who you give the list to."

"It's your list." Luna turned and flashed him an encouraging smile.

Draco stared her down. "You're the one who wants me to brew potions."

Her forehead wrinkled and then she let out a little sigh, shoulders slumping. "All right, Draco have it your way. I'll give the list to Charlie."

She turned back to her task and Draco scowled in response. He really wanted to give Charlie Weasley more reason to hang around like a musty smell.

There was silence for a little while broken only by the soft scratching of Luna's quill as she finished off her written work. "Do you miss Hogwarts, Draco?"

He closed his book, placing it on the table beside his chair. "I don't know that I miss it. It's more that I'm used to it."

A part of him had wanted to go back to school to get away from Malfoy Manor and the Dark Lord. Out of sight was out of mind after all, and if the Dark Lord didn't see him then he might not think to give him another mission to complete. On the other hand, Draco hadn't looked forward to returning to Hogwarts, the place of Dumbledore's death. He may not have killed Dumbledore, but he was responsible for his death. The thought of seeing the Astronomy Tower again had chilled him to the very marrow of his bones.

"It's strange not going back, but it wouldn't be the same what with half the students not allowed back."

"And the Carrow siblings are teaching there now," Draco muttered. "You thought Umbridge was bad. She's nothing compared to Death Eaters. Be glad you aren't there to see it."

"See what exactly?"

"Control. Intimidation. Fear. Torture. All the things Death Eaters are good at," he said quietly.

Luna shivered. "It wouldn't really be like that, would it?"

"Yes it would." A sudden thought occurred to him and Draco had trouble breathing. "You.... the things they'd do to you..." his eyes closed tightly, thumb and forefinger pressing against his eyelids as he hunched forward over his knees, breath suddenly coming in quick sharp bursts as he tried to banish the image of Luna at the mercy of the Carrow siblings.

"Draco, Draco it's all right." Luna hurried to squat at his feet, grasping his hands, her thumbs stroking gently against his knuckles.

Draco saw it all as though it had played out right in front of him, because in a way it had. "I've seen it, I've seen torture. And you..." he suddenly grasped her shoulders, fingers digging into her flesh. "You're so stupid, so bloody stupid. You'd fight back. I've seen what they do to those who oppose them. They'd make sure you'd scream."

"I'm here and you're here. Everything really is ok," she said soothingly.

He let out a shuddering breath. "You don't understand. I know because I've done it. I tortured Rowle."

His words seem to hang suspended in the air between them, time freezing to a standstill as his thoughts rushed and swirled, telling him he should have kept silent, he should never have told her. Draco waited for the disgust to curl her lip and revulsion to flash in her eyes, but neither came. Instead she smoothed his hair, her shocked expression softening.

"Oh Draco, you've been so through much. You've been put in impossible situations and you just had to do your best, nobody can ask more of you than to do your best."

"You don't know the Dark Lord," he muttered darkly.

"Well, he's a special case, he doesn't really count."

Draco felt a smile starting at her dismissive attitude towards the Dark Lord, but he couldn't quite make it come out on his face. He didn't want Luna humouring him, he wanted her to really and truly forgive him for every bad thing he had done, and there were plenty of things she didn't know about. He wanted her to look at him and see someone worthwhile, the way she did with Potter.

"Everything you've done you had a reason for doing," she said softly.

He snorted. "And that makes it ok?"

"It makes it understandable. We can all understand wanting to protect the people we love, that's what The Order of the Phoenix is all about. The Order wasn't created because the members liked to fight or were trying to be heroes, it was all about protecting their family and friends, and that's still what it's about. We do what we have to for the people we love. You're no different."

Before Draco could form a response the door opened and Potter appeared.

Luna glanced up. "Hello, Harry."

"Hi, Luna. I, um," he cleared his throat, rubbing at the back of his neck as he went to stand by the window. "I have a favour to ask."

"Yes of course," Luna said, straightening up. "What...."

"Not you," Potter said with a shake of his head. "Malfoy."

"Oh."

Luna sounded as surprised as Draco felt. She took a step back, forgetting she was standing between his knees and wobbled when she hit his leg. Draco's hand shot to her waist to steady her and Potter took an automatic step forward, staying where he was when he could see she wasn't going to fall. Straightening his leg to enable her to step over it, Draco let his hand linger on her waist, fingers spread over her hips as she took a seat on the arm of his chair, her hands resting in her lap.

"You want a favour from me, Potter?"

"Uh huh." Potter nodded, running a hand through his hair. "We talked about it, and Hermione was going to do it, but then we figured you'd be better."

Draco's eyebrows rose a fraction. "Better at what?"

"Making polyjuice potion."

"Oooh," Luna looked down at him, a smile on her lips and excitement lighting her eyes. "Can I help, Draco?"

"He hasn't said he'll do it yet," Potter pointed out.

"He will."

She spoke with such confidence Draco found he didn't want to disappoint her no matter how he really felt about it. As it happened, Draco had mastered the art of the polyjuice potion over the last year, he'd had to in order to get Crabbe and Goyle to help him, he could make it with his eyes shut and it didn't bother him to make the potion.

He eyed Potter for a moment. "Are you saying Weasley actually agreed to this too?"

"He knows about it," Potter replied evasively.

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes. "It'll take time."

"A month, yes I know," Potter said.

"I'm missing some ingredients."

"I'll get whatever you need," Potter said.

"There," Luna said brightly. "You can give your list to Harry. Draco's made a list of ingredients he's run out of or running low on."

Draco gave a wave of his wand and a roll of parchment floated from the little table beside his chair across the room to Potter who took it and gave it a quick scan before slipping it into his pocket.

"Leave it with me," Potter said. "I'll get everything you need as quickly as I can."

"Who are you planning on changing into, Harry?" Luna asked.

Tucking his hands into the back pocket of his jeans Potter rocked back on his heels a little smile on his lips. "I don't know yet."

"What do you mean you don't know? You don't want polyjuice potion just for the hell of it, do you?" Draco said crossly.

Potter's smile turned into a grin. "No, not just for the hell of it," he agreed. "But I don't know yet who we'll end up being. You'll make enough for the three of us, won't you?"

"It won't be a problem," Draco said, his thumb absently brushing against Luna's hip bone.

"You do have a plan though, don't you, Harry?" Luna persisted.

"The start of one," Potter admitted. "We've got some kinks to work out yet."

"Like the middle and the end?" Draco said snidely. He saw Potter's eyes flash as the dislike between them reared its head, but before he could say anything Luna laughed, diffusing the tension.

"That would certainly help. I'm sure Harry will have a full plan before he does anything."

Draco was less sure, but he didn't voice his thoughts. He'd rather Potter leave the room than get into an argument with him prolonging his stay. "You'd better get back to it then, hadn't you, Potter?"

"I guess so. See you later, Luna." Potter crossed to the door. "Thanks, Malfoy."

Surprised Draco turned slightly to look at Potter, he nodded once and Potter left the room.

"There," Luna said pleased, swinging around so her legs rested over his, her feet dangling between his knees. "You two can get along. Sort of. So, who did you turn into?"

"Huh?"

"When you took polyjuice potion."

"I didn't take it, Crabbe and Goyle took it and turned into girls. At first I had to pilfer it from Slughorn's stock, but I couldn't keep doing that all year, so I learned how to make it."

"Why did they need it?"

"I needed someone to stand guard outside The Room of Hidden Things. People are less likely to question two thirteen year old girls than they are two hulking sixth years like Crabbe and Goyle."

"That's your sneaky Slytherin mind," she said with a smile.

Draco grinned. "The Sorting Hat knows what it's doing."

"I suppose you wanted to be in Slytherin?"

Draco nodded. "All the Malfoy's and Black's were in Slytherin. I wasn't nervous about it, I knew I'd be in Slytherin too."

"I had no idea where I'd be. I thought maybe I'd end up in Hufflepuff but I didn't mind where I was. Mummy was in Ravenclaw so it was nice to be in the same common room she had been in."

"I wanted to go to Durmstrang but my mother thought it was too far away," Draco said.

"If you'd gone to Durmstrang we'd never have met, I don't think I'd like that," Luna said with a purse of her lips.

"No," he murmured. His eyes lifted to her face to find she was looking down at him with a soft smile curling her lips and his stomach did a weird flip. It was then he realised his hand still cradled the curve of her hip, his thumb still idly stroked her hip bone and she hadn't moved away from him. He had the sudden thought of applying a little pressure and easing her down into his lap to bring her closer.

Their connection broke when the door opened and Potter reappeared pale and distracted, with a sheen of perspiration coating his face and he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere other than in the drawing room. Potter cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. "Luna, can I have a word in private?"

"Yes of course." Luna rose but Draco placed a hand on her shoulder as he too got up.

"It's ok, I'll leave. I'll get you a drink."

"Thank you, Draco."

He left the room and headed down to the kitchen his brain busy as he wondered what was so important to make Potter that nervous. No sooner had he stepped into the kitchen Draco drew up short, startled to find the room full; everyone in the house was there. His gazed landed on Granger's distraught face and Draco had an immediate shortness of breath, dread rushed down his spine like ice water and he grasped the door frame so tightly his knuckles turned white. He knew, how he knew Draco couldn't say, but he knew with an utter certainty what had happened.

"Don't say it, Granger. Don't say it." He took a breath through his nose. "If you do Luna's life goes to hell."

Granger spread her hands wide in a gesture of hopelessness. "I'm sorry, Mr Lovegood's dead."

 

 

 

 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

Draco didn't have to ask how it had happened or even question why. Even though he'd never given it a second thought, Mr Lovegood's death had an sense of inevitability to it. Lovegood was a reporter, even if Draco wouldn't exactly class the man as a reporter, that was basically what he was, he owned a magazine which, even through Draco thought it was nothing but a rag, had a following; and Lovegood openly supported Potter and The Order. He wrote articles slating the new Death Eater laws instead promoting Potter and The Order's victories at The Battle of Hogsmead. The Death Eaters wouldn't stomach such out and out defiance for long, even if it did come from The Quibbler; especially after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of The Order and their allies at Hogsmead.

He had mere minutes ago told Luna the Death Eaters wouldn't tolerate opposition and now this had happened to her father. Depending entirely on which Death Eaters had been despatched to take care of the Lovegood problem, it could have been quick and easy or something which didn't bear thinking about.

"He was murdered. By people like you," Weasley spat.

Draco couldn't help it, Weasely always did manage to get on his last nerve. "Rich and pureblooded? he responded snidely. He had the satisfaction of seeing Weasley turn red with indignation and saw Granger roll her eyes, a look of exasperation crossing her face.

Spinning on his heel, Draco went back to the stair case, taking the stairs two at a time the shrunken house elf heads swinging in his wake he hurried to the second floor almost colliding with Potter on the landing.

"Watch it," Potter exclaimed.

"You had no right to exclude me!" Draco snapped angrily jabbing a finger at Potter.

"What are..."

"Kicking me out of the room like that. You had no right."

Potter glared. "I didn't kick you out. You offered to leave."

"I didn't know what you were going to say, did I? If I had then I wouldn't have left. You had no right to exclude me and make me leave Luna on her own."

"She wasn't on her own, I was with her," Potter pointed out, voice tinged with anger. "What difference does it make to you anyway? You and Luna aren't friends."

There was almost a smug satisfaction to this last statement, Draco felt as though Potter had punched him in the gut; but he knew Luna thought differently and it was Luna who counted. "That's all you know," he retorted, pushing Potter aside.

"Where are you going?" Potter demanded, turning to follow him. "Luna wants to be on her own."

"Harry, what's going on?" Granger's voice floated up to them and Draco heard her ascend the stairs.

"Malfoy's being his usual annoying self," Potter said. "Didn't you hear what I just said, Malfoy?"

Draco ignored him, throwing open the door to the drawing room. Luna sat on the sofa staring into space pale and still, her eyes wide but dry. He went to the drinks cabinet, poured a finger of brandy and offered it to her.

Luna blinked slowly, eyes gathering focus as she looked up at him. "I don't like brandy."

"It's not for drinking, not really. It's good for shock."

"Oh." Luna took the glass with a sluggish movement and stared down at the rich brown liquid.

"I'm sorry, Luna." Potter came into the room and threw him a cross look. "I tried to tell him you wanted to be on your own but he wouldn't listen, ignoring other people's feelings as usual."

"Why don't you shut up?" Draco snapped.

"Why don't you ever think of someone other than yourself?" Potter snapped back.

"It's ok, Harry," Luna said quietly.

Draco turned his shoulder to Potter, effectively blocking him from view. "Knock it back, Luna. Just one quick movement. No need to be dainty about it."

She did as he suggested, her nose wrinkling and face screwing up as the alcohol washed over her tongue and burnt the back of her throat; but she obediently swallowed just managing to control a coughing fit. She looked up at him with swimming eyes and a vulnerable quiver to her lower lip. "It didn't help, Draco."

He squatted at her feet, hands covering hers where they clutched the glass. "What do you want me to do, Luna?" he asked quietly.

"There isn't anything you can do, Draco. I just need some time." She let out a soft breath. "Should I lie down?"

"If you like. You can have anything you want, Luna you just have to tell me what it is."

"A lie down," she murmured. "I feel a bit drained."

"Come on." He plucked the glass from weak fingers and placed it on the coffee table before taking her elbow. "I'll help you."

When he turned, Draco noticed Potter was still standing there, watching him with a puzzled frown and narrowed eyes, the air of suspicion hovering around him. Granger was in the doorway a concerned look on her face. She held out a hand to Luna when they reached her and gave Luna a tight hug.

"It's all right, Draco. I'll take her." Granger slipped an arm around Luna's shoulder and guided her from the room.

Draco wanted to object but couldn't quite see how he could manage it without looking like a petty idiot. Instead he turned to Potter, fierce blue eyes clashing with startled green. "I'll make your potion for you, Potter. I'll do whatever you need me to do, and you find out who did this and you make them pay for it."

He left Potter gaping after him as he followed Luna and Granger down the hallway. Granger was standing in the doorway to Luna's room, it made sense Granger and taken Luna there, she didn't know Luna spent the night in his room, but still Draco couldn't help feeling a bit put out about it.

"If you need anything, Luna just call me," Granger said. "Draco? He's here, do you want him? Yes, all right, Luna. Try and rest now." Granger stepped back and closed the door. She sighed and ran a hand over her forehead. "She just wondered where you were," Granger said. "She said she wants some time alone to let things sink in."

"It doesn't sink in," Draco said shortly. "It just hits you, like the Knight Bus."

"I'm sorry, Draco. I really am sorry about your mother. I...." she shifted her weight awkwardly. "I'll come and check on her in a little while. Call me if you or Luna need anything."

Placing his hand against Luna's bedroom door Draco considered for a few minutes before deciding to leave her alone. Pushing open his bedroom door Draco made sure it was fully open before bringing the arm chair to the doorway and wedging it there. He sank into the overstuffed cushions, summoned a book and settled in to wait for Luna.

How long he sat there Draco didn't know. Time did seem to stand still as he couldn't concentrate on his book and knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate on his potions work if he retrieved it from the drawing room and his own grief, never far from the surface, prickled at him without Luna there to sooth the edges of darkness.

In the silence of the corridor Draco could just about make out the muffled sound of Luna crying. A few times he half rose out of the chair before sitting again, deciding not to disturb her. Luna knew he was there and when she was ready she would call him.

 

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

The room was bathed in semi darkness; the curtains didn't quite meet in the middle and Luna lay on her side watching little moats of dust float in the shaft of light. She wasn't sure how long she had been in her room but she felt it had done her good to spend some time alone to cry and remember, and most of all, to think.

She got off the bed with a little sigh and pulled open the curtains, weak light poured in through the grimy windows, Luna leant against the glass looking down into the back yard where a sparrow hoped around near the overgrown flower bed.

The shock had sent her numb, her head ached and her stomach churned, although slowly but surely she had began to filter the news into her mind and she understood her father was no longer with her.

Luna knew her family were different to most people. She was different to her peers. Her father had always said that for a little girl she had an old soul and a mind wise beyond her years. She had offered her insight to both Harry and Draco when they had crossed paths with her at a difficult time in their lives, and if she had crossed paths with herself, Luna knew what she would say.

Xenophilius Lovegood may not have gone into battle with the Death Eaters, but he had still fought. He had stood up against the tyranny of the Dark Lord and he had been killed for it. He was in his own way a war hero, one of the unsung war heroes, Luna was sure, but a hero just the same, and she was proud of him.

At least, Luna thought, he got to see his wife again. It had been so many years, a lifetime, since Pandora Lovegood had died. There had been many times, and not just special occasions, when Luna had found she especially missed her mother but life had gone on and it would again without her father. Her grief did not stop the world, and hiding away would do no good. Luna had always believed in facing things head on whenever she could.

Going to the mirror she examined her face; blotchy skin, red eyes and hair escaping its braid at every opportunity. It wouldn't do for Draco to see her looking like this, he was only just letting go of his grief and guilt, or at least learning to live with those feelings, and she didn't want to send him spiralling backwards; one look at her face and he'd begin to identify with the way she felt and start reliving his own experiences. He'd come along so nicely, Luna didn't want to disrupt that.

She cast a small glamour charm to fix her face and re-braided her hair, making herself somewhat presentable, and crossed to the door, pausing before opening it at the sound of Hermione's voice.

"What in the world are you doing?"

"Waiting for Luna. What does it look like?" Draco responded irritably.

"But why are you sitting there? Have you been there all this time?"

"Yes I have. I wouldn't be able to hear if she called me if I was in the room, would I?"

"Oh, well no, I suppose not. I've brought some sandwiches. Should I go in?" Hermione asked.

"No, I think she might be sleeping. She stopped crying a little while ago."

"Crying?" Hermione said sharply. "You heard her crying and you just left her in there? You didn't go in to see if she was all right?"

"She chose to go in there to be by herself," Draco snapped. "She knows where I am when she's ready."

How nice, Luna thought, Draco was getting the hang of friendship and he wasn't really fighting with Hermione, they were being rather civil. Things were looking up.

"Shall I leave these here?"

"I could do with the juice," Draco said.

A small smile touched the corners of Luna's lips. It was the closest Draco had come to saying thank you to Hermione.

"Call me if you need anything," Hermione said.

Luna waited until she was sure Hermione had left before opening the door. Not that she had anything against Hermione, but she didn't fancy being scrutinised at the moment, and Hermione, although she would only want to help, had a tendency to be a little bit pushy. Luna rather liked that aspect of Hermione, she felt women should never be afraid to be assertive, even if that wasn't part of her own make up.

When she opened the door she was surprised to see Draco had brought the armchair to his bedroom door. A book lay across his knee and he was taking a drink from a goblet. His eyes were already on the door and therefore on her.

"Thirsty? Granger brought juice. And sandwiches."

Luna shook her head, appreciating he hadn't asked how she was feeling. Draco had recently experienced the same loss; he knew how she was feeling. "Not right now, thank you. How long have you been sitting here?"

"Since you closed the door."

"It's nice, knowing you're close by I mean." She perched on the arm of the chair, swinging her legs over his.

"Uh huh." His arm went around her waist, hand moulding to her hip.

"You know that feeling you get when you slip on black ice in the winter, when your stomach flips over and its sort of like time has been frozen for a fraction of a heart beat when your feet go from underneath you and your suspended in the air, even though it happens so quickly you don't really know you're suspended in the air? Well, I feel like that."

"Like the world has been pulled from under you," Draco said quietly.

"Yes," Luna agreed.

"And you've gone crashing to the ground."

"Yes. And then you get that breathless winded feeling when the ground knocks the air out of you."

"And you think you'll never breathe properly again."

Luna nodded. "It's different to when mummy died. I remember being confused and sad, but I don't remember this feeling."

"I hate it," Draco said darkly.

"It's not pleasant," Luna agreed. "Having someone with me who understands is comforting in a way. Are you all right, Draco? This can't be easy for you, coming so closely on the heels of losing your mother."

"I'm all right." He couldn't afford to lose himself in his own misery, he had to be there for Luna the way she had been there for him. "And you'll be all right. You're strong."

Luna rolled her shoulders. "I don't know about "strong", but there's always a way through if you look for it."

They fell into comfortable silence for a while, the steady stroke of Draco's thumb against her hip a soothing motion, until the sound of raised voices came from below. Draco let out a heavy sigh. "What now?"

"We should go and see."

Luna rose slowly, Draco noted, as if she didn't quite yet have enough energy to be up an about. He thought she should still be in bed, but there was a selfish part of him which wanted her around and therefore didn't voice his opinion. Instead he took her hand and went with her down to the kitchen which they found in an uproar.

Tonks was sitting at the table with a large gash across her forehead which Granger was examining. Weasley was yelling, his face bright red, Bill was trying to calm him down. Potter looked furious his green eyes blazing. There was a map spread across the table, his father and Charlie were pouring over it and talking together.

"What's happened, Harry?" Luna managed to make herself heard over Weasley.

"Retaliation," Charlie said without looking up.

"The Death Eaters have gone after everyone they suspect as being Order Members," Bill said.

"They arrested my dad at work!" Weasley yelled. "My dad! He's been arrested."

"Where's your mum?" Luna asked fearfully.

"She's all right," Bill assured her. "Percy managed to get to her in time."

"Percy?" Draco hissed in Luna's ear.

Luna let out a breath, tense shoulders relaxing a little. "Percy Weasley. Their brother."

Draco had a vague recollection of a thin, ginger headed boy at Hogwarts pompously announcing he was head boy.

"They went to The Burrow and to Tonk's house. They're actually taking people out of their homes now!" Harry raged.

"It was just dumb luck I happened to be at The Burrow when Percy turned up," Tonks said. "He told us The Ministry were sending officials out to arrest those suspected of treason, meaning us of course," she sent a sudden grin around the room. "Arthur was at work at the time, Kingsley too. It was all Kingsley could do to get out. In the commotion Percy left to warn Molly. He couldn't help Arthur. The Death Eaters thought Molly would be there alone, there were only two of them and between the three of us we managed to escape. Percy said they're arresting muggle born's as well, I went straight home to warn dad, but he'd already gone on the run."

At that moment Lupin came out of the basement, he held a vial which he offered to Tonks. "Here you go, this should do the trick."

Tonks took a swallow and the split skin at her forehead began to knit itself back together. She reached up to prod at it. "That's better. Good job with these potions, Draco." She lifted the vial in a little toast.

"We assumed they killed your dad because of his reporting," Potter said, "but we aren't sure now if that's right, Luna. They may have been going to arrest him and he fought back. We should have done something to protect him. Of course the Death Eaters were going to retaliate when he's not just printing support for The Order but saying the Dark Lord is afraid of me for not being at the Battle of Hogsmead. They weren't going to just sit back and let him call the Dark Lord a coward."

"It doesn't make much of a difference," Luna said. "Either way, they went after him because he opposed them. I'm proud of him. He died well."

"Yes he did, Luna," Charlie said, looking up from his map. "He died very well."

"What exactly are you doing now, father?" Draco asked.

"Trying to arrange safe houses for The Order to go to ground," Lucius replied distractedly. "It may prove to be rather difficult with the Death Eaters spreading fear like a plague."

"People will be afraid to help, afraid the Death Eaters will hear about it and kill them or lock them up for treason," Bill said, moving to stand at Lucius shoulder and look at the map. He made a circle over a small area with his wand and Lucius was nodding as though it meant something to him.

"Luna, there's something you must realise," Lucius said softly. "Your father, he's not with The Order. The Ministry will require someone to claim him. They know he has a daughter, they'll know who you are, that you were at The Department of Mysteries, that you're friends with Harrry Potter..."

"You mean," Luna interrupted quietly, her free hand clutching at the crook of Draco's elbow to steady herself, "that I can't claim my father's body. The Death Eaters would probably guess that as I'm not at Hogwarts then I'm in hiding with The Order. To try to claim my father would mean I could potentially put Harry and everyone else in danger. I understand, Mr Malfoy."

Running a hand through his already messy hair, Potter crossed the room to them. "Luna, I'm sorry. We should have put your father in a safe house straight away. We should have..." he paused and spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "We should have done something to protect him."

"I understand what daddy was trying to do," Luna said slowly. "You have supporters all over the place, Harry, its just that sometimes they need a little push to go from supporters to allies. Daddy was trying to give people that push and it did work, a lot of people turned up at Hogsmead to fight because they knew you were there and the Dark Lord wasn't. He's supposed to be the most powerful wizard to ever live and yet he didn't turn up to fight his mortal enemy. Daddy tried to remind people no matter what was happening in the world, we still had The Chosen One. Mr Malfoy was right in letting you be seen fighting; you're the people's hope, Harry. But you can't let yourself get distracted with the Death Eaters. The Order will deal with the Death Eaters. The Order will help those on the run and anyone who needs help. You have to focus on the task Dumbledore left you. The Death Eaters aren't hiding any more, they aren't pretending they aren't in control of The Ministry, now more than ever you need to focus," she reached out, tracing a finger down the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, "and finish what the Dark Lord started the night he marked you."

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

For the rest of the day Draco sat beside Luna at the kitchen table trying to match up Order members with safe houses and also trying to decide who could potentially be in danger whether because they were suspected Order members or Order allies or because they were muggle born. There were more people involved with The Order in one capacity or another than Draco had imagined.

He was doing something good and worthwhile, and while Draco had no objection to doing it, the longer he did, the more agitated he became, until his breath came in harsh bursts and despair took hold of him. Resting his elbow on the table Draco dropped his head into his hand, thumb and forefinger pressing into his closed eyes. Even as his heavy breaths filled his chest, Draco experienced the oddest sensation of suffocating.

Although he had been living in the secret Headquarters of The Order for weeks, it hadn't really occurred to Draco what that actually meant. It was only now he was face to face with the extent of how far The Order reached across their world that the meaning became clear. Dumbledore had said he could hide Narcissa and Draco saw the truth of it.

If only he had known all this last year.

If only he had gone to Dumbledore and told the truth.

If only he had looked past his own inflated ego and arrogance at the very beginning.

If only.

He let out a miserable little sound.

He felt Luna shift beside him, her arm slipping around his shoulders her free hand curling around his upper arm. She was so close their cheeks brushed as her head rested against his.

"What is it, Draco?" she asked softly.

"He said he could protect her, but by then it was too late. If I'd known even a fraction of all this she might still be here. He could have helped her and kept her safe."

"Hindsight can be a cruel thing," she murmured, smoothing his hair gently. "You made the only decision you felt you could at the time, you can't keep blaming yourself."

Draco was grateful she knew him well enough to save him having to elaborate, it was hard enough to accept as it was without talking and analysing every stupid decision he had made. He took a breath, her scent invaded his senses, it was a deliciously dizzying experience and Draco half turned to her. Their eyes met and held. Draco felt dizzy again, and there was an ache that seemed to come from the very marrow of his bones to close the small gap between them and kiss her.

Gathering every ounce of self-control he possessed, Draco pushed the urge away. Even when he knew he shouldn't want her. Even when he knew his mother would be disappointed in him, Draco couldn't deny the desire swirling beneath the surface of his skin. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew he couldn't, and not because of his mother, not because of Luna's social standing, not because he had no idea what his father would say, but because Luna had called him her friend. Luna was the one good thing he had in his life right now and he didn't want to ruin it, he didn't want to lose her; although it was difficult to remember that when dewy roses and sweet magnolia reached out to tease and taunt his self-control.

Swallowing thickly, clenching his hand into a fist, Draco broke the connection, returning his attention to the parchment spread across the table. He heard Luna let out a breath and he spoke up before she could give voice to any discomfort his look may have caused.

"There might be a way around this." He was only partly concentrating, he still had the nagging feeling he had come across her scent before, but he still couldn't place it. It couldn't have been Luna, he'd never been close enough to her to smell her.

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

Draco pulled his mind back to the task at hand. "Official documentation with the Ministry seal to confirm blood status. It won't help The Order, but it will stop some people having to go on the run."

"That's a good idea, but how would we get it?"

"What about Percy Weasley? He works at the Ministry."

Luna scratched the tip of her nose a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "I'm not sure he's able to go back. We'll have to ask Charlie or Bill."

Voices in the hallway drew their attention and then Fred and George appeared. "Hello, Luna." They spoke in unison.

"For you, Malfoy." George, Draco knew it was George because of the missing ear, placed a bag on the table. "Your ingredients."

"It's all there," Fred said. "Everything you asked for. Looks like you're brewing something other than polyjuice."

Luna put a finger to her lips. "It's a secret. Draco's not sure if he can do it. But I know he can."

"Wolfsbane's pretty complicated," Fred said.

"Draco's very good," Luna replied, unfazed. "Is Percy still going to work at the Ministry?"

George blinked in surprise and then grinned at the abrupt change of topic. "I'm not sure. Why?"

"Draco had the idea of using documents with the Ministry seal to confirm blood status, we wondered if Percy could help."

Fred rubbed his chin, exchanging a look with his twin. "Percy would be the perfect person to help, being Junior Assistant to the Minister and all that. I don't know if anyone at the Ministry knows he went to warm mum about the arrest, if they do he won't be able to go back."

"We could ask him," George said.

Fred shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to ask. It would help a lot of people. Good thinking, Malfoy."

"Not a complete self-absorbed git after all," George added.

"Who's not a self-absorbed git?" Tonks came into the room with Potter and Granger.

"Malfoy." Both twins spoke at once.

Tonks merely nodded. "What makes you say that?"

Seamlessly finishing each other's sentences, Fred and George reiterated the conversation. Potter and Granger stared at him in utter shock before Granger broke the silence. "Draco, that's a great idea."

"Would it work?" Potter asked. "I mean, would it really stop the Ministry arresting people in their homes?"

Draco rolled his shoulders."I wouldn't know about that, would I? I don't know exactly how it all works. I'd assume there are files or a register or something they're using to track down muggle borns, there must be a way to tick off those they've arrested or interrogated, or whatever they're doing. If people were in possession of an official document authenticating the bloodline the Death Eaters would leave them alone. Whoever's carrying out the arrests you can bet they're Death Eaters or their allies. The Dark Lord has control of the Ministry, its all done on his orders. Purging, they call it."

"Purging." Potter all but spat the word, his face screwing up in disgust.

"We have to do something," Tonks said determinedly. "But you'll be asking Percy to take a big risk. He'll end up in Azkaban if he's found out."

"That's a fair point," Luna said.

"Makes it trickier," Fred said.

"Percy was never one for risks," George added.

"Solid and dependable, that's our Percy." Fred exchanged a look with his brother. "Boring," they announced with a note of finality.

"Like Tonks said, it's very risky," Luna said, "It may be difficult to find someone willing to take the risk. Our best bet is to start with Percy and if he can't do it he might know someone who can."

Fred sighed. "Mum's not going to like it."

"If Percy decides to do it we'll just let him tell her," George said.

"Cowards," Tonks taunted with a laugh. "Come on, we should run this by Mr Malfoy and Charlie. Charlie might even have a contact in the Ministry."

"We brought the ingredients, Harry." Fred clapped Potter on the shoulder as he passed.

"Thanks, Fred."

"Anything for you, Harry," George said with a wink making Potter laugh.

Granger rubbed at her temples closing her eyes for a few minutes. She suddenly looked older to Draco, as if the weight of Potter's density was crushing her as well as Potter. "The world has gone mad. I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole," she muttered as she followed the others from the room.

Luna gazed after her with interest. "Is that a muggle expression, Harry?"

"Uh huh. It's from Alice in Wonderland."

"What does it mean?"

"Um, well, I guess it means you're in a surreal and difficult situation."

"Well then, I guess we're all down the rabbit hole," Luna said.

"I guess so."

"Who's Alice?" Luna prompted, "And what's Wonderland."

"It's a story. You'll love it," Potter said with a quiet laugh.

"Tell me," Luna encouraged with a smile. "Go on, Harry, tell me about Alice and her Wonderland."

Alice in Wonderland was, Draco decided, far and away the stupidest story he'd ever heard. He sat gaping at Potter as the story seemed to randomly jump from one little adventure to the other without any sort of link at all. He supposed it was better than Potter telling her love stories of dashing, handsome princes and love's first kiss. And of course, Potter had been right, Luna loved the story, it appealed to her own crazy imagination, and as Potter talked, Draco imagined it was Luna experiencing all the odd adventures.

Potter was just coming to the end of The Mad Hatters Tea Party when Weasley and Tonks reappeared.

"Typical of a Malfoy," Weasley began irritably as soon as he walked through the door. "Sending a Weasley out to do all the hard work. First your father with Charlie and now you want to send Percy back to the Ministry."

Draco felt his hackles rise, but Tonks spoke before he could form a suitably snide response. "Fred and George have gone to speak to Percy and see if we can actually put Draco's idea into action."

"They brought the ingredients," Potter said, looking up at Weasley.

"It's handy having Kreatcher around," Weasley said. "But don't tell Hermione I said that."

Draco had wondered how Potter had gotten a message to the Weasley twins so quickly, he'd forgotten about the house elf.

"Do you think you could start now?" Potter nudged the bag towards him and Draco scooped it up.

"It's still going to take time," Draco warned.

"I know," Potter said with a sigh. "But I'd feel better if I knew it was at least started."

Draco glanced across at Luna expectantly. She met his gaze and looked back at the table, her fingers brushing along the edge of the parchment, an awkward expression on her face. She had said she would help him brew any potion the Order asked him to make, but they both knew he didn't really need any help; the people listed on the parchment did. It was a testament as to how selfish he was, Draco thought, that he still wanted her to go with him.

"Go on and help him, Luna." Tonks pulled the parchment towards her. "I'll finish this off. It's about all I'll be able to do for a while." She blushed, a little secret smile curling her lips. "I won't be volunteering for any missions or battles for some time. I'm pregnant."

Luna gave an excited cry and hugged Tonks around the neck. "Oh, Tonks, really? How lovely. Professor Lupin never said a word. Congratulations."

Potter and Weasley were smiling and shaking Tonk's hand, they were all talking at once, faces animated, voices high with excitement; it was a time for friends and family, and Draco had that feeling of intrusion again. He slipped from the room when they were busy offering congratulations and he heard Luna ask when the baby would arrive. Closing the door quietly behind him, Draco descended the stairs into the basement his body relaxing when he entered the room proper and dumped the bag on the table. He heard Weasley's raised voice calling for Granger, probably to share in the news.

A potions book sat ready on a metal stand where he had previously left it and Draco turned to the page on polyjuice potion, sorting through the packets and pouches the Weasley twins had brought, checking the ingredients against the page and those stacked neatly on the shelves.

The ingredients he would need for the wolfsbane Draco set on a shelf apart from everything else. He would think about the wolfsbane later, for now he would just start the polyjuice potion.

He frowned at the packet of lacewing flies which had been labelled bought as seen, advising they had not been treated in any way.

"There's an extra twenty one days," he muttered.

The door opened, a shaft of light fell on the steps and Luna came clattering into the room. "You disappeared," she said, bouncing to his side.

"I've got a potion to brew."

"You look cross," she observed, head tipping to the side.

"Bloody lacewing flies," he groused. "They need to be stewed for twenty one days before I can use them in the potion."

"Oh dear, you'd think Fred and George would have gotten stewed ones. Perhaps you could ask them to exchange the packet."

"I'd rather do it myself, then I know it's right."

"Whatever you like, it's your potion." She knelt on the chair beside him, arms resting on the table watching him light the flame beneath the caldron. "Don't you like babies, Draco?"

He stared at her as if she'd gone stark staring mad. "What?"

"You didn't say anything to Tonks just now."

"What exactly would I say? You do realise she's married to a werewolf."

"Yes, I know."

"Then you of all people, considering all the time you've spent around werewolves, ought to know what that means. Would you take the chance with your kid?"

She was silent for a few minutes, a look of annoyance on her face and Draco couldn't help feeling a wave of triumph at having proven his point. He brought a bottle of water from the shelf and poured some into the cauldron.

"There's a possibility the baby will inherit Professor Lupin's werewolfry, but there's also a chance it won't," Luna said at last. "It might be a Metamorphmagus like Tonks, or it might just be whoever he or she is meant to be. You never know about these things. It doesn't really matter."

"It matters," Draco said shortly. "You know it does."

"Draco," she began patiently, "we're in the middle of fighting a war to prove we're all equal, we..."

"No we aren't, we're in the middle of a war because the Dark Lord wants to rule our world. It's got nothing to do with being equal. If the Dark Lord hadn't returned things would have gone on as they were and the werewolves would still be treated as they've always been treated, that's not going to change no matter who wins."

She gave him a long thoughtful look, lips pursing as she considered him. "It bothers you, doesn't it?"

"No, I couldn't give a toss what mess Lupin makes of his life."

"I mean it bothers you Tonks married him. It was bad enough her mother married a muggle born and now Tonks has married a werewolf and is having his child. It really bothers you, that's why you've never acknowledged your relationship to her. Tonks is family, Draco and after what happened to your mother I'd have thought you would appreciate those who are left, family is important, Draco."

"My mother disowned that part of the Black bloodline, and I don't intend to go back on that," Draco said stiffly, counting out the lacewing flies and tipping them into the cauldron.

"It doesn't matter what you say or do, Tonks will always be your family, nothing in the world will ever change that." Luna sighed. "I don't have anyone now daddy's gone and I didn't even get to say goodbye. Draco," she began thoughtfully, "when you said I could have anything I wanted, I just had to tell you what it was, did you mean it?"

"Of course I meant it." She had his undivided attention now. "Why, what do you need?"

"I'd like to go home, even if it's just for a few minutes. I want to light a candle for daddy and I want to stand in the house we lived in together and say goodbye,” Luna told him, voice quavering.

"Then we'll go," Draco promised. "We'll go tonight."

 


	22. Chapter 22

Draco chose not to say anything to Potter about his plans to take Luna home. Not because Draco felt it particularly needed to be kept secret, it was just that he didn't really want Potter tagging along. No matter what was going on, Potter always managed to get in the middle of it all and Draco wanted to keep Potter well away. If Luna wanted Potter there then she would invite him.

He pulled on a long sleeve top, absently fiddling with the cuffs, being sure the left especially was around his wrist, covering the Dark Mark on his arm. Luna hadn't seen the Dark Mark yet and Draco wasn't anxious for her to do so. He finger combed his hair back, examining his reflection critically; platinum blonde hair, the trademark of the Malfoy family, grey eyes, pale skin and a pointed chin. Sleeping potions, proper meals and Luna's presence helped him look better than he had done for a while; his face had lost its sharpness and his eyes had lost the haunted look, the smudges gone from beneath them giving him every appearance of someone who slept well; which he did these days. But, Draco's head tilted and he frowned at his mirror image; was he good looking? Draco didn't really know.

He wasn't aware of having an army of admirers the way Theodore Nott did, Theo was what Draco would term a pretty boy and he was nice; Draco wasn't sure his features could be called pretty, although he didn't think he looked all that bad. He wasn't nice, he was arrogant and snide with a vicious tongue which could be downright cruel when he wanted it to be. Draco knew he hadn't done himself any favours in the friends department with his behaviour. He had dated Pansy Parkinson, sort of, but she was no prize winning beauty, not like some of the girls Theo had flocking around him. Pansy was rich, pureblooded and the Parkinson's were a well respected family within the social circle in which Draco and his parents moved. Pansy Parkinson measured up, that was about all she had to recommend her and Draco, rather at a loss for any other female companionship, most girls, in fact, most people, found him too arrogant a bully to want to be around him for too long, had simply taken what he could get and that had been Pansy Parkinson.

What did Luna see when she looked at him? Did she find him attractive? More to the point, was she attracted to him?

As if his thoughts had summoned her, Luna entered the bedroom. She smiled across at him. "Here you are. You missed the ending to Alice in Wonderland."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I think I'll survive. Did it make any sense in the end?"

"Well, yes, sort of." Luna perched on the arm of the chair. "Alice was dreaming."

"I guess that does sort of make sense. Dreams can be weird." He glanced at her in the corner of the mirror; in his case dreams could be damned arousing too, and so could reality. It was a warm evening and she wore a black dress covered with daisies which tied in a large bow at the back of her neck leaving her shoulders mouth-wateringly bare. For a moment Draco let his mind wander as he imagined tracing the delicate curve of her neck with his fingertips, and where his fingers went his lips would follow.

"Are you all right, Draco? You've gone a bit pink."

"Just a bit warm," he said, studiously avoiding her gaze. Pocketing his wand he asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I'm ready to say goodbye, Draco."

He considered her for a few minutes, she looked as sweet and serene as she always did, there was no hidden temper, no anger flickering in her eyes, just calmness and an acceptance Draco couldn't understand.

"It's ok to be angry, Luna."

She blinked uncertainly. "Yes, but it's rather pointless. It won't bring my father back. Hate takes up a lot of energy, Draco, it's exhausting. I'd rather not let myself get all twisted in hate." She stood up. "Shall we go?"

They went down to the back yard, avoiding the front door just in case they disturbed the portrait of Mrs Black. The night air was a warm caress on his face and Draco looped an arm around Luna's waist, drawing her into his side, he took a moment to appreciate her closeness before readying himself for apperation. A rush of air surrounded him, his body was squeezed into a tube much too small for his frame, and then Draco's feet were landing on solid ground again.   
  
Luna let out a breath to see the tall tower of her home. It was still standing, the Death Eaters hadn’t burnt it. She trotted forward, opening the small garden gate and walking slowly up the patchwork path. Her house did not have the classical sweeping lines of older mansions such as Malfoy Manor, it did not stand proud and elegant like the prow of a ship, but had a distinct hotch potch look of bricks being thrown together without any thought at all. Luna however, was proud of her house, a place where she had been loved unconditionally and where she had learnt was life was about.  
  
Draco stood silently behind her examining the house with interest. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. This place would look horrendous beside Malfoy Manor, and yet it had a quaint charm all of its own, rather like Luna did.   
  
The garden wasn’t as overgrown as the Weasley’s had been. This garden had a shape of sorts from what he could see in the darkness. Tall trees stood behind the house, sheltering it from the sun and the rain, there were different sections of the garden for different flowers and climbing ivy grew up the one side of the door.

They were silent for a while, Draco allowing Luna the time she needed to gather herself. Presently he conjured up a small white candle for her. “Here you are.”   
  
“Thank you.” She took the candle and lit it using her wand. Kneeling at the front step, she placed the candle outside the door, thankful there was no breeze to blow out the flickering flame.   
  
Observing her as she whispered her goodbyes, Draco had the overwhelming urge to say something, to tell Luna she didn’t need to be sad because he was there with her. He would look after her. Luna’s hand came up behind her, groping for him, and Draco took the small fingers in his own, holding them tightly, as the only way he could think of to show Luna he was there for her.   
  
Squatting down behind her, Draco rested his forehead against the side of her head, wrapping his free arm around her shoulders. His breath was warm on her skin and Luna was grateful for his closeness and strength.

She tipped her head slightly to face him and his gaze caught hers. Draco could feel the pull of her in the pit of her stomach. Touching her cheek, his eyes dropped to her mouth, tracing the sensual line of her lips.

“Draco…” she whispered, the tip of her nose touching his.   
  
“I’m here,” he murmured softly, his fingers sliding through the mass of silky blond hair. Draco steeled his spine, tried desperately to control the urge to kiss her. He shouldn‘t kiss her, not now, not here, he shouldn’t. “Luna…”   
  
An almighty crack echoed through the still night, interrupting the moment of intimacy and making them both jump. Draco’s grip tightened on his wand as he spun round, keeping low to the ground, his eyes darting around the dark garden trying to pick out who had apperated and where.   
  
“Draco, we have to go.” Luna gripped his arm as she squinted into the night.   
  
Dragging Luna to her feet, Draco held her against his chest and spun quickly. Instead of apperating, Draco could feel something pushing against him, keeping him pinned to the spot. “Damn it, anti-apperation net.” Draco threw a hex at a cloaked figure advancing on them through the darkness. "Keep your back to mine,” he instructed, satisfied when he felt her against him, panic gripping him as he tried to think of a way out of this situation.   
  
“Quickly, this way.” Luna tugged him after her as she ran along a little path circling the house. She executed a well aimed trip jinx at a figure emerging from behind a tree and turned quickly into a tangle of bushes. Luna cried out when the bushes suddenly erupted into bright orange flames and she fell into the dirt with Draco on top of her when a spell flew over their heads and hit the garden wall.   
  
Draco executed a spell, narrowly missed the Death Eater advancing on them, but gave them enough time to scramble to their feet as the Death Eater ducked to avoid the spell.   
  
“Hurry, Draco." Luna dove into the darkness her fingers squeezing his.

  
The flames from the bushes began to spread, spitting into the dry grass crackling and smoking their way across the garden. A heartbreaking cry left Luna’s lips as she saw the flames dancing against the backdrop of the sky, looking as though they had escaped from hell itself.   
  
“Oh! Oh, Draco, my garden!”   
  
“Not now, Luna. Which way is out?”   
  
Turning away from the fire, Luna lead Draco along the hedge at the side of the garden until she came to a small hole which Draco would have passed. Luna ducked through the hedge with Draco behind her. “There’s a wood down there,” she pointed, “Down the hill.”   
  
“Then run.” Draco moved quickly, dragging her after him as spells whizzed around them and the Death Eaters shouted to each other in the fire filled garden. Draco cursed as he ran, how the hell had the Death Eaters known they were here? How was he going to get them out of this mess if he couldn’t apperate? Then he heard it, more cracks filling the night signalling the arrival of more Death Eaters.   
  
Luna ran so fast to keep up with Draco that her legs felt like jelly and a sharp stitch shot up her side. Gasping for much needed breath, Luna stumbled into Draco’s arms when he entered the wood, sliding behind a giant tree trunk and pulling her into his chest.   
  
Her fingers clutched the front of his shirt, her body shaking. “It’s all right, everything’s all right,” Draco soothed, holding her tightly. “You heard the other Death Eaters apperating, didn’t you? That means we can too. Are you ready?”   
  
“Yes,” she said, her voice strangely calm.   
  
Draco stepped away from the tree to give himself plenty of room to move. He cleared his mind, picturing the front step of Grimmauld Place and spun on his toes.   
  
They landed with a crack dead in the centre of the step. Draco yanked open the door with fumbling hands, wanting only to get Luna inside the house where she would be safe. The door closed with a bang which woke Mrs Black’s portrait. Her high pitched screams sliced through Draco, playing on his already fraught nerves.   
  
Still holding Luna against him, Draco headed for the kitchen as he heard movement upstairs and hurrying footsteps crossing the landing to discover the source of the noise. He lit the kitchen with a flick of his wand and deposited Luna in the nearest chair, kneeling beside her and examining her carefully for signs of injury.   
  
Potter was the first through the door, his wand raised, eyes sharp and alert. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded, staring stupidly at Draco and Luna.   
  
Granger arrived next, her hair like a birds nest, having obviously been asleep. “Luna, what’s happened?" she hurried to her friend's side, sucking in a sharp breath when her bare feet made contact with the cold kitchen floor.   
  
“Draco! What is the meaning of this? Will someone shut that portrait up?” yelled Lucius, taking command as soon as he entered the kitchen in a burgundy robe tied around the waist with a black belt and his hair pulled back neatly from his face.   
  
“Come on, Ron. Let’s see if we can shut the old bat up." Lupin arrived with Weasley at his side.   
  
Quietly, Luna told Potter where she had been, her voice trembling and her fingers still digging into Draco’s hands.   
  
Potter looked furious. “What the hell is wrong with you, Malfoy? I'm trying to keep her safe and you go and get her mixed up in a fight with the very people I'm trying to protect her from." His voice softened when he looked at Luna. "If you were so set on going home why didn’t you tell me, Luna?”   
  
“I was afraid you’d stop me going, Harry.” Luna admitted. "I didn't think just going home would be dangerous."  
  
“I wouldn’t have stopped you, Luna. I would have arranged something that was safe.”

  
“I’m sorry, Harry. I just needed to go home,” Luna whispered, lowering her eyes from the stress lines on her friends face.   
  
Lucius was white with rage, he was so livid he was shaking. “Draco!” he roared, wand lifting.   
  
He was breathing heavily when the hex struck Draco’s cheek the force of it knocking Draco off balance. Grey eyes burning, Lucius struggled to control his temper. “I haven’t lost control like this for years, but you are severely testing my patience!”   
  
“Oh! Stop it! Don’t do that!” Luna dropped to her knees at Draco's side trying to help him sit up as he pressed the back of his hand to the cut across his face. Blood trickled from the wound, looking extremely dark next to his pale skin and he winced when his knuckles brushed the cut.   
  
“What exactly did you think you were doing, Draco?” Lucius demanded. “What were you thinking to put yourself and Luna in that kind of situation?” He threw up his hands as he began to pace about the room like a prowling animal. “After everything I have gone through, everything I have done to keep you alive, this is how you repay me? You go and pull a stupid stunt like this?”   
  
Lucius stopped at Draco’s feet and stared down at this son incredulously. It was beyond his comprehension Draco could have done such a thing. That he could have shown him such disrespect. The shock had worn off quickly, and now all Lucius was left with was fear, plain hot fear rushing like larva through his veins as he thought of everything which could have happened to the both of them.   
  
“What was going through your mind, Draco?” Lucius asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “You were raised to show more respect for your mother than to disregard her sacrifice in such a way."

  
Hermione and Harry exchanged awkward looks, they both felt they shouldn’t be there when this was going on, but neither knew how to leave the room. Hermione had seen Ron and Remus creeping past when Lucius had exploded and she wished she had gone with them. Although she felt Draco and Luna had acted irresponsibly, she wasn’t altogether sure Draco deserved the words his father was throwing at him.   
  
Draco was too stunned to say a word. His father had never once struck him, he had never said such hurtful things to him before. Never had Draco seen his father so incensed that the veins in his forehead stood out in an alarming fashion. Those grey eyes, so like his own were so dark they were almost black, and his usually pale complexion was replaced by an angry red.   
  
Before Draco could think of a response, Luna spoke up, her usually dreamy voice firm and indignant. “Stop blaming Draco for everything, it’s not his fault. I asked Draco to take me home and he protected me!”   
  


“That’s not the point,” Lucius replied through grit teeth, trying his best not to vent his frustration on Luna. “Draco should never have allowed you to end up in such a dangerous situation. Even when things are done with good intentions they can turn sour, as tonight has proven.”   
  
“But it was done with good intentions,” Luna argued. “You’re making out as if Draco did it on purpose."  
  
“And why, pray tell, didn’t you use the sense you were born with, Draco?“ Lucius asked crossly. “Surely it should have been obvious that your wand could have a tracking device on it or that alarms would have been set up around the Lovegood home in case Potter showed himself."  
  
“I didn’t think,” Draco mumbled.   
  
“Well neither did I,” Luna pointed out. “It wasn’t the moment to be thinking such things.”   
  
He and Narcissa had argued many time over their son, and just when Lucius thought it was all over, along came Luna to take up the stance and do battle for Draco instead. In his mind's eye he could see Narcissa, her long blond hair tumbling around her shoulders just as Luna’s was doing now, her blue eyes flashing, her soft voice raised as she defend her son, exactly as Luna was doing. For reasons Lucius simply couldn't understand, the women in his life made ridiculous allowances for his sons stupidity.

“Carelessness costs lives, Luna."

"Yes," she said softly."But not tonight."

Lucius' eyes went to Draco and he stared down at him long and hard. He suddenly looked tired, older, defeated. He had worked hard to ensure his sons survival and in one night Draco had wiped it all out. "Tonight you sealed your fate, Draco. Should your death come at the hands of the Dark Lord or his followers, it will not be an easy one."


	23. Chapter 23

Draco examined his cheek in the bathroom mirror, wiping the cut with a damp cotton wool ball. It wasn't all that bad; a quick swipe over with a healing potion and the wound would be gone for good.

"Draco, are you in there?" Luna's voice accompanied a light knock on the door.

"You can come in."

She poked her head around the door and then came into the room. She was wearing those shorts again, and again his eyes travelled the length of her legs.

"How's your cheek? Let me take a look at it." She turned his face slightly away from her, studying the cut. "It won't mark if we put a healing potion on it." She gave him a small poke in the shoulder. "Sit down."

Draco took a seat on the edge of the bath tub, watching her take a bottle from the cabinet and upend a small amount onto a fresh cotton wool ball.

“I’m sorry, Draco, I didn’t mean to get you into trouble with your father.”   
  
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Draco wasn’t that concerned with the shouting, but he was upset his father had treated him that way in front of Luna. She wasn’t supposed to see him receiving a row as though he were five years old; Luna was meant to see him as a man in his own right. “It’s not as if we’ve never argued before. He’ll have calmed down in the morning."

“I’ll speak to him tomorrow and try and put things right. Explain a bit more. Tonight really wasn't your fault."

Standing over him, Luna cupped his chin, examining the cut more closely. Draco couldn't take his eyes off her; he wasn't just looking at her, but drinking her in. She was aware of it, he could tell by the way her hand shook, but he couldn't tear his eyes from her.   
  
“This might sting a little.”

Draco winced when she pressed the cotton ball to the open cut. She was leaning over him carefully dabbing at the wound, her other hand cradling his cheek to keep his head steady. Her breath tickled his cheek and her chest was right in his eye line. Draco‘s breath caught and he gripped the side of the bath so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"The... there's.... I mean, I'm sorry for putting you in that situation, Draco." Her voice wasn't quite steady and her chest quivered with shallow breaths. "I didn't think about what it would mean for you if you were captured by the Death Eaters. Draco, I'm so sorry to have put you in that sort of danger."

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for, Luna." Draco's eyes narrowed at the soft gasp which passed her lips when his warm breath ghosted across her skin, goose bumps erupting along her arms.

“All done. I don’t think it’ll leave a mark.”   
  
"Thank you." He turned towards her when gentle fingers trailed down his good cheek. Luna was close to him, so very close to him, those wide set blue eyes staring at him and Draco felt a longing tugging in his gut. He cleared his throat, forcing himself to look elsewhere. "Besides, I don't think anyone would have shown up if I hadn't conjured the candle. It didn't occur to me the Ministry might have put a tracker on my wand. I guess the magic protecting this place blocks the tracker magic. Besides, nothing happened tonight that you haven't faced before with Potter. I know what my father has been trying to do, but," he paused and ran a hand over his face. "It was naive to think I could hide out here and no matter what happened in the end I'd get through it all unscathed. All the Dark Lord needs to do is go into my mind and he would see I wasn't held captive here and could have returned to him at any time with the exact information he needed; where Harry Potter was hiding. I'd never survive the ultimate betrayal. He'd never believe I was always loyal to him even if I never went up against him. My father's not stupid," Draco added, "I think, after what happened to my mother, he just needed to believe he could protect me no matter what. But he can't. It's all just an illusion."

"We do everything we can to protect the people we love. That's why daddy sent me away with Harry and why your father came to The Order." Like a tidal wave, the full impact of what she had unintentionally done hit her. Luna's knees went weak. Not only could he have been killed, but he could have been captured. Luna’s hand went to her heart, the blood draining from her face as she saw in her mind's eye Draco captured by the Death Eaters. Blood thundered in her ears, tears gathered and her hand flew to her mouth. "I've heard the stories of what happens to people captured by the Death Eaters, and even if I hadn't, you've told me about it. It would be so much worse for you, Draco, because you betrayed them. Everything could have gone so horribly, terribly wrong tonight and you could have died, after everything your father has done to keep you safe and it would be my fault."

"Nothing is your fault," Draco insisted. "You were thinking about your father, you needed to say goodbye."

"That's not an excuse," Luna said. "It's not like me to disregard other people's feelings. I should have thought. I should have realised."

"Luna, there are times when you're allowed to put yourself first," Draco said patiently.

"But not when it puts you in danger," she argued, sinking down next to him on the rim of the bathtub, looping her arm through his and resting her cheek against his shoulder. "I really am sorry, Draco for not fully understanding how dangerous taking me home would be for you.”   
  
“We're fine, Luna. It all worked out in the end. Don't worry about it anymore.” He glanced at her when she shifted, lifting her head from his shoulder. The room seemed to close in on him, the walls rushing up to lock them in another time, another world, where no-one else existed. Draco's mind rushed in circles as he wondered if she felt the same tension he did.

Lucius, who had been standing outside the door listening to their conversation, chose that moment to enter the room. He understood now why Draco had done such a stupid thing tonight. "Here you are."   
  
“Luna was helping me with my cut,” Draco said.

  
“I see, my assistance is not required then,” Lucius smiled thinly. “I apologise, Draco, I did not mean to strike you.”   
  
Draco shrugged. “Luna says it won’t mark.”   
  
“I’m sure Luna has been taking very good care of you, Draco.”   
  
“I tried,” Luna said.   
  
“It looks absolutely fine to me.” Lucius said, finding no trace of the hex on Draco's face. “I haven’t lost my temper in years, but you pushed me to the limit, Draco.”   
  
“I know.” Draco lowered his eyes from his father's face. The anger he could deal with, even the harsh words, but not the disappointment. Draco hated being a disappointment to his father.   
  
“Mr Malfoy, I’m very sorry to have caused a row between you and Draco. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to put Draco in danger and I’m sorry,” Luna said quietly. “Please don’t blame Draco, he was just trying to help me, and he protected me you know. He really did.”   
  
Lucius looked at the guilty face of the girl in front of him. She was wringing her hands together nervously, remorse shining in her eyes as she searched for a way to make things better. He sighed heavily, “I don’t want you to worry about it anymore, Luna. The main thing is that you’re both all right, but don’t ever do something like that again.”   
  
“I promise,” Luna said sincerely.   
  
On an impulse Lucius reached out and patted Luna’s cheek. “Then I shall say goodnight.”   
  
Luna blinked in surprise, but smiled at him gratefully, glad he had forgiven her for putting Draco in danger and she had made things right between father and son. "Goodnight, Mr Malfoy. Good night, Draco.”

Draco watched her leave before turning his attention to his father. "I understand you were mad at me, but you didn't have to shout at me in front of her. I thought Malfoy's didn't air their grievances in public."

"They don't," Lucius said, ignoring the snide tone and musing there never had been a face as indignant as Draco's could be when his ego had taken a knock. "I lost my temper and I shouldn't have. We shouldn't fight, Draco, family is everything."

Draco nodded. "Luna said something similar."

"Maybe you'll listen to her. She seems to have quite the influence over you these days. Well, I'm going to go back to bed and try to get some sleep, Charlie will be here early in the morning. Good night, Draco."

 

Draco finished in the bathroom and headed to the bedroom, pleased to see Luna was already curled up in her transfigured bed. He didn't want her to spend the night on her own. He wanted her close where he could keep an eye on her.

"I feel exhausted, Draco."

He got into bed with a groan. "Me too."

"Good night, Draco."

With a wave of his wand darkness enveloped the room. "Good night, Luna." He lay awake for a while listening to the soft sound of her breathing even out as she fell asleep; it was a comforting sound. She seemed to sleep deeply, but then Luna had nothing to feel guilty about, only her grief would keep her awake and he knew from experience grief was exhausting.

At some point he had dropped off to sleep, although Draco didn't remember it. Either he hadn't been asleep very long or on an unconscious level he was listening out for Luna, for she woke him. She wasn't screaming or crying or thrashing about, but she usually slept quietly she wasn't one of those people who wiggled about; tonight she kept shifting and little whimpers escaped her now and again.

Casting a small, dim light; Draco didn't want to hurt her eyes, he went to her. With the bed dipping under his weight, Draco took her by the shoulders bringing her into a sitting position, forcing her into wakefulness. He spoke her name, giving her a little shake and her eyes suddenly popped open.

"Oh!" She let out a breath.

"It's all right. You were only dreaming."

"Yes," she breathed, eyes closing for a moment as she shivered. "I dreamt you died."

"I... me?" Draco hadn't expected that, he'd assumed the dream had been about her father.

"Horrible. It was horrible," she said with a shuddering breath.

He drew her close, her head dropped to his shoulder, her arms slipping around his waist and up his back. "It was just a dream." He murmured soothingly to her, his lips brushing the top of her head, marvelling at how soft her hair was against his cheek.

He rubbed gentle circles along her back, his free hand fitting neatly at the base of her spine. As he breathed her in, his hand wandered back up through her hair, smoothing it behind her ear. It would be so easy to cup her cheek, tip her head back and find her lips in the dark. Draco swallowed, eyes closing as the image took shape in his mind.

"Will you stay here with me, Draco until I fall asleep?"

Draco swallowed again, but he couldn't refuse her when she'd had such a rotten day. He didn't much want to refuse her anyway. "If you like."

She released him, wiping at damp eyes. Taking up her wand from the seat of the chair she was using as a bedside table Luna extinguished the light. "You'd better get in. I don't want you getting cold."

He should have refused, but he couldn't think of a viable reason she would accept. It was difficult to think of anything else as he slid beneath the sheets, other than easing her back into the pillows and pressing his lips to her throat, or taking her pulse in his mouth, or tasting her exposed shoulder; or combining all three. He turned on his side to face her and she took hold of his hand. She didn't saying anything and neither did he; Draco simply ran his thumb along her knuckles in a slow hypnotic movement.

He watched her as she closed her eyes with a little sigh. He listened as her breathing settled and evened out, deepened as sleep caught hold of her. Draco's mind quieted and his shoulders relaxed, a wave of contentment swept over him completely at odds with the way his blood churned and raged like a free flowing river.

 


	24. Chapter 24

When Draco woke Luna was still asleep. She had turned away from him at some point during the night and her hair spilled across the pillow. Propping himself on his elbow, Draco's fingers wandered through the tumble of dirty blonde waves. He had the urge to wiggle close, wrap and arm around her waist and just feel the warmth of her against him; but he resisted. With a smile curling his lips, Draco eased out of the bed intent on going through his morning ablutions and bringing her breakfast in bed. She wouldn't want to sit downstairs with everyone staring at her, asking if she was okay when it was obvious she would be far from okay and awkward tension filling the air with everyone trying to think of something to say which would not be insensitive or draw attention to her grief. Luna was better off out of that kind of atmosphere. She needed time to breathe and heal, and he would help her.

When he arrived in the kitchen it was to the smell of freshly brewed coffee and bacon sizzling. Tonks stood at the stove watching the frying bacon, munching on a piece of toast. Granger was at the table sipping from a mug, a bowl of cereal in front of her and Lupin was biting into a bacon sandwich.

"Good morning, Draco," Lupin greeted him.

"Morning," Draco responded stiffly.

"Have you spoken to Luna yet?" Granger asked.

"No," Draco said, less stiffly, he couldn't be completely hostile towards someone who had Luna's best interests at heart.

"I hope she managed to get some sleep," Granger murmured, more to herself it seemed than to anyone else. Draco at least, chose to take it that way, it would save him having to answer and admit where Luna had spent the night. He didn't want Granger sticking what was bound to be a disapproving nose into matters and ruining things.

"Would you like some breakfast? Bacon's nearly done, all nice and crispy," Tonks said.

"I'll take some up to Luna," Draco said, picking up a plate from the end of the table and putting some toast on it. He commandeered a tray from the kitchen counter and poured some juice, recalling Luna sometimes liked fruit for breakfast he added an apple and a banana to the tray.

He had to wait for the bacon, and busied himself buttering the toast and gathering up cutlery. The others made no comment, in fact they didn't take any notice of him, but Draco couldn't help feeling rather conspicuous.

"Let Luna know we can begin her lessons again whenever she's ready," Lupin said. "It's important to keep busy."

"It's also important that she takes some time to grieve. She's always so busy worrying about everyone else, just for once she's going to worry about herself," Draco said firmly.

"I'll take my cue from her," Lupin said.

"Bacon's up," Tonks sang out, spearing a rasher with a fork.

Once he was satisfied there was enough bacon on the bread to make a decent sandwich, he added some ketchup and cut it into a neat triangle. Slapping another sandwich together for himself, Draco levitated the tray ahead of him and left the kitchen.

At the top of the stairs he met his father. "Good morning, father."

"How are you, Draco?"

"Fine. Just taking some breakfast to Luna."

Lucius nodded, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "She stays with you, doesn't she?"

It wasn't a question, it was an observation.

"In my room, not in my bed," Draco said firmly. He didn't want his father thinking those kind of things about Luna. She wasn't like that. There was a sudden tightness in his chest, or was she? How would he know? He hardly knew everything there was to know about her. Like a flash of lightening in his brain, Draco remembered she had gone to Slughorn's stupid Christmas party with Potter, everyone at school had been talking about it, he hadn't paid much attention at the time with the mission from the Dark Lord hanging over him like a black cloud but now, standing on the dimly lit landing of Potter's house, the thought swamped him. When he had been busy losing his mind had she been busy kissing Potter? When he had been drowning in fear of what he could suffer at the hands of the Dark Lord, had she been drowning in passion at Potter's hands?

"I never suggested otherwise," Lucius said.

Draco blinked at his father, trying desperately to push the horrible thoughts away and concentrate instead on what his father was saying.

"All I wished to do, Draco was remind you to think with your head and not your hormones."

Draco blinked again. "Huh?"

"Don't be coy, Draco. It doesn't suit you," Lucius said crossly.

"It's not..."

Lucius held up a hand. "I have no wish to be privy to the details, Draco. Just use some common sense. That bacon smells good, it's making me rather hungry. I'll speak to you later."

Draco stared stupidly after his father unsure as to what had just happened. He turned away from his father's retreating figure, he had more important things to worry about just now. He had to find a way of discovering exactly what happened between Luna and Potter. A part of him had no wish to know, the other part of him wanted to demand she tell him everything. He had no right t demand anything from her and no right to feel this sense of betrayal that she may have had some sort of intimate relationship with Potter; but he felt it just the same.

When he got to his bedroom the door was slightly ajar and Draco pushed it wider, the tray floating in front of him. How the tray didn't topple to the floor Draco didn't know, all concentration fled, as the world closed in on Luna, standing by the bed in a towel, her arms full of clothes. He must have made some sort of noise because she glanced back over her shoulder and Draco grabbed the doorframe to keep himself steady. His mouth went dry and his palms turned clammy. He couldn't think straight. His fingers itched to touch all that smooth expanse of bare creamy skin which was now tinged with a pink blush and, he noticed, her chest rose and fell quite quickly.

"I... I had a shower and, well, I just came back in here. I didn't think. I just realised my clothes are across the hall."

"I brought you breakfast." He managed to squeeze the words out of an extremely tight throat.

"Thank you. I'll just um, get dressed." Her blush deepened and Draco felt his own cheeks warming. She crossed to the door and Draco angled his body, not quite moving out of the way, so that she brushed against him as she passed. His eyes closed and he inhaled the familiar scent of her.

"I'll just be a minute." She was going for airy, but there was a slight quaver in her voice.

Draco let out a long breath when her bedroom door closed behind her and set the tray on the table, quickly turning the bed back into a chair and flicking his wand at the curtains to bring some light into the room. He was not going to get the image of her in a towel out of his head any time soon. Just a towel, he thought, his gut knotting. Nothing else to keep her from him, just a towel. It was a delicious but torturous thought.

She didn't take long and returned within five minutes, suitably clothed in a white dress covered in bumble bees. Draco refrained from rolling his eyes at the absurdity of the dress. There was a part of him which sort of liked the dress because it was classically Luna.

Kneeling beside the table she picked up the sandwich and took a bite. "This is good. Did you make?"

"If you call putting the bacon on the bread making it, then yes. If you mean cooking the bacon, then no. Tonks did."

She grinned at him and began to peel the banana. "Thank you for bringing it up to me. I feel a bit better today, but I'm not sure I feel quite up to breakfast with everyone. I'll see them at lunchtime instead."

"You seemed to sleep well."

"Yes I did, after that one horrible nightmare about you. I'll be sad for quite a while I should think, but it'll pass one day. That's just the way of the world."

"Time is healing," Draco murmured.

"It's a cliché, but it's true."

"I suppose so."

"Are you going to brew any potions today?"

"If that's what you want to do. We can do whatever you want."

"You're going to stay with me," she said softly.

Draco felt his cheeks pinking again, but kept his eyes on her. "Yes."

"I'm not sure what I feel like doing," she admitted. "But I'd rather not have silence."

"We could have the radio on," he suggested.

"We could," she agreed. "Maybe you could play me something."

He stared at her for a long moment. He hadn't played the piano for the longest time. He didn't feel quite ready to do it, and he had the suspicion Luna was trying to prod him into it so he didn't leave it so long he never played again. He had said she could have anything she wanted and if this was her one request Draco couldn't find it in him to deny her.

"Maybe," he replied guardedly. He wanted some wiggle room to back out if he needed it.

Once they had finished their breakfast they went to the drawing room. Draco turned the radio on and Luna knelt at the coffee table where the unfinished jigsaw sat. He went to sit beside her and they continued with the jigsaw while Elvis Presley sang away in the background.

Draco snorted. "Can you believe muggles actually think he was one of them? As if anyone with that kind of talent would be anything other than a wizard."

"Daddy was a big fan."

"So was my mother."

"He did an interview with The Quibbler a few years back, he's a loyal reader you know."

"Is he?" Draco's eyebrow rose a fraction.

"Oh yes. We saw him in concert once, he was wonderful. Did you know he has a really mischievous side? He'd get on well with Fred and George. Even though as far as the muggle world was concerned he had died, he kept popping up in random places every now and again and the muggles would go crazy reporting sightings of him. Apparently there's still a big thing in the muggle world as to whether or not he's really dead. He got into a lot of trouble with the Ministry over that."

Draco laughed. "I imagine he would have."

She took his hand, fingers sliding through his. "Memories outweigh the sadness, Draco. If you let them."

He didn't really have anything to say to that. She was probably right, Luna usually was about this sort of thing.

Her fingers tightened on his and she got up, giving him a tug which forced Draco to either follow or fall on his face. "Come on, lets dance."

"Lets what!" he exclaimed, eyes widening.

"I like dancing, don't you?"

"Not particularly," he muttered.

"Don't be a grouch, Draco." She clasped his other hand, pulling him with her into the middle of the room.

He frowned, "I'm not a grouch. I just..."

"Oh, don't take yourself so seriously. It's fun to dance, and it's only us."

"Yes, but..."

Blue Suede shoes faded out, and words failed him when the strains of Pledging My Love filtered into the room and Luna drew closer, looping her arm over his shoulder, resting their joined hands on his chest between them.

"I like this song," she said softly.

"Hum."

Draco didn't think he had any particular instinct when it came to dancing, but his body had a mind and will of its own. It wanted to move with her and did so, in a natural easy manner that sent his pulse jumping and his blood running a little bit hotter. He brushed against her, his leg slipping between hers to guide her into turns he'd had no idea he was going to make. Her eyes grew wider, her lips parted and her fingers tightened their hold on his shoulder.

Arousal shot through him and Draco could see, feel and sense only her. He couldn't take his eyes off her. Her eyelashes swept down a moment to veil her eyes, and then her eyes were back, large and luminous and he was lost in them. He wasn't sure if she came closer or if he drew closer, but she was closer; he could feel the heat of her, hear the uneven breaths, feel where her body touched his and he swallowed, head swimming. He wanted, he needed, he ached; it was all too much to fight any longer. His hold on her tightened and she sucked in a short breath.

Suddenly, Elvis was gone.

"Hello, faithful listeners. We're back on the air with Potterwatch. I'm River and I'm joined by Rodent."

"Rapier. It's Rapier. How many times do I have to tell you?"

Draco's lips parted and he stared at her in bewilderment. She blinked, a startled look crossing her face, then she dragged her gaze towards the radio.

"Potterwatch, it's back," she said.

"Sorry for our absence." The voice on the radio said. "We've had some problems with Death Eater activity. Nothing we can't handle of course."

"Damn Death Eaters, so inconsiderate. It's like they don't want us running an illegal radio station and reporting the truth, isn't it, River?"

Draco stared at the radio as if it had come alive. "What the bloody hell is this?"

"Potterwatch," Luna said again.

"What the hell is Potterwatch?" he demanded angrily.

"Lee Jordan set it up. It's a pirate radio station reporting all the happenings with The Order, survival tips, breaking news, news about Harry, that sort of thing. They move around a lot, they never broadcast from the same place twice and they interrupt other radio shows as much as they can to get the truth out and try to reassure people. They named it after Harry, obviously."

"Oh, obviously," Draco replied snidely.

The moment had now long gone and Draco grit his teeth, irritation causing his eyes to snap. Even when he was nowhere in sight, somehow bloody Potter managed to ruin everything.

 


	25. Chapter 25

"A lot has been going on since we were last on the air," River said. "The Death Eaters have been making nuisances of themselves harassing witches and wizards they believe have obtained magic illegally, although how they think that's possible I don't know. A person is born with magic, you can't steal it."

"Death Eaters never were very smart, River."

"Too true, Rapier. However, we've had lots of reports of people who have been falsely accused fighting back, and that's what we like to hear. Remember people, anything you can do to harass and confuse the enemy..."

"Confuse a Slytherin? That shouldn't be too hard." Put in Rapier.

River laughed. "Easy as pie, as they say. But as I was saying, anything you can do to harass and confuse the enemy will always be helpful, but remember to be careful, don't take unnecessary risks, Harry will need everyone on side when the final fight comes."

"I'm afraid Romulus isn't with us this time for our Pals of Potter segment, and Royal has had some difficulty lately in avoiding Death Eater detection, but not to worry, they're both alive and well and will hopefully join us next time."

"We're going to take a moment now to remember a good friend, an ally and Potter Supporter, a man who was not afraid to report the truth," River said. "It's with great sorrow that we report the murder of Xenophilius Lovegood, Editor of The Quibbler."

Luna let out a small moan. Her eyes closing, she rested her forehead against Draco's shoulder.

"It's all right," Draco said soothingly, scrabbling in his pocket for his wand, he silenced the radio. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing slow circles over her back.

She took a shaky breath, clutching a little tighter to him. "I didn't quite think of it like that. I didn't think of it quite as murder."

Carefully, Draco guided her backwards to deposit her in a chair. He squatted at her feet, keeping a hold of her hands. "How else could you think of it?"

Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug. "As an act of war. It's different to murder, isn't it?"

"Yes," Draco said slowly. "In a way." He wasn't altogether sure he believed that, but he was willing to say it if it helped ease her mind.

"We're at war," Luna said. "There are always casualties and death and killing in a war."

"Always," Draco agreed.

"Daddy was opposing the other side. And, well, we might be fighting back, but the Death Eaters are in control at the moment, aren't they?"

"They have The Ministry, The Wizarding Wireless, The Daily Prophet and Hogwarts. Yes, I think we can safely say they're in control right now."

"Harry is Undesirable Number One. A lot of The Order members are Undesirable's, they talk about it on Potterwatch. And daddy was opposing the Dark Lord, printing the truth and supporting Harry. Going by the law, and not just new Death Eater law, but law in general, wouldn't that be treason against the Ministry?"

"Most likely." He could see now where her train of thought had gone and he hurried to keep it there, to prevent any further pain or misery. "Your father died for his beliefs, he was fighting the war in his own way and the Death Eaters weren't going to let it go on for long. You're right, Luna, it was an act of war. But what does it hurt if Potterwatch makes it something a little more if it helps just one more person stand up and fight?"

"If daddy's death can do that, well, I suppose they can say whatever they like. Daddy would like to think he was an inspiration to someone."

"He was always an inspiration to someone," Draco said gently, giving her a meaningful look as he swept her hair back behind her ear, fingertips grazing her cheek.

She smiled suddenly, and it was like a dark thunder cloud had been lifted. "Yes, you're right, Draco."

Silence fell between them; soft, gentle, untroubled, and Draco saw the bothersome thoughts leave her eyes. He experienced a feeling of quiet pleasure at having said the just the right thing at just the right time to help her when she most needed it. She had some grieving to do, but the matter of her father was settled and that at least would allow her to move on. He noticed little indents appearing suddenly in her forehead and he saw a question swirling behind her eyes. He waited for it patiently with the hope he would not undo the good he had done.

"Draco," she began slowly, "I'm going to ask you something and I want you to be honest with me."

He really didn't like the sound of that, but Draco found himself nodding his agreement.

"I don't want you to be worried about hurting my feelings, you see, I'd rather know if I'm wrong and if I am, just tell me so plainly and we'll put it to one side and never speak of it again."

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

She didn't respond immediately, as though she were working things out before she spoke and Draco's curiosity increased.

"This may not be the right time to bring it up, but I'm not quite sure when the right time would be, so I'm just going to do it now." She took a small breath. "Like I said, I might be wrong, because, well, I've never had anyone behave towards me like that before but," she paused as if to steady herself. "Sometimes, Draco, when you look at me, I get the feeling you're thinking about kissing me. But then you don't."

Colour flared in his cheeks and Draco was rendered speechless.

"If you were thinking about kissing me but you didn't because you weren't sure how I would react, what with us being friends and everything, I just wanted to say that I'd quite like you to kiss me. Of course," she added hastily, "If I'm wrong please don't feel awkward about it, Draco. I won't mention it again and we'll just continue as we have been."

For a few heart pounding moments Draco couldn't get his voice to work, and then he found himself speaking in a whisper. "You're not wrong."

A tentative smile touched her lips, a look of expectation coming to her eyes. "How nice."

He frowned at her. "Well I can't do it now," he said crossly. "With you staring at me."

The look of expectation was replaced with amusement, much to Draco's added annoyance.

"No, of course not. You should do it when it feels right to you, Draco. It's quite exciting really, knowing you're going to kiss me but not knowing quite when. I do love surprises."

 

 


End file.
